BX  6231  .C88 
Cramp,  J.  M. 
Baptist  history 


-/ 


Baptist  History. 


JAS.    B.    RODGERS    Co.,    PRINTSaJk 

52  &  54  N.  Sixth  St 


CONTENTS. 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD. 

CHA».  PAGE 

I.  Introductory  Remarks — Paedobaptist  Concessions 13 

II.  The  Apostolic  Fathers — ^Justin  Martyr — Irenaeus 19 

III.  TertuUian — Baptism  of  Children  in  Africa— Origen — First 
Appearance  of  Infant  Baptism — The  Clinics — Christianity  in 
England 26 


THE  TRANSITION  PERIOD. 

I.  The  Catechumens — Progress  of  Infant  Baptism — Delay  of 
Baptism — Gregory  Nazi anzen — Chrysostom — Basil — Ephrem 
of  Edessa — The  Emperor  Constantine — Immersion  still  the 
Mode 41 

IL  Christian  Intolerance — Justin's  Law,  enjoining  Infant  Baptism 

— The  Novatians — The  Donatists — Pelagianism. 51 


THE  OBSCURE  PERIOD. 

I.  The  Manichaeans — Cautions  to  the  Student — All  Opponents 
of  Infant  Baptism  not  Baptists— Account  of  the  Paulicians — 
Their  Views  of  Baptism 67 

II.  Religious  Reform  in  Europe — The  Canons  of  Orleans — Arras 

— Berengarius — Miscellaneous  Anecdotes 82 

1»  6 


CONTENTS. 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD. 

CHAP.  PAGI 

L  State  of  Affairs  in  Europe  during  this  Period — The  Crusades 
— Other  Important  Events — The  Scholastic  Divines  and 
Philosophers— Universities— Printing 9I 

II.  Paulicians  in  France  and  Italy — General  View  of  the  Reform 
Movement — Various  Names  given  to  the  Reformers— Senti- 
ments held  by  them — False  Charge  of  Manichaeism — Their 
Activity — Reinerus  Saccho's  Account 97 

III.  Success  of  the  Reforming  Parties — Consternation  at  Rome — 

Anathemas — The  Dominican  and  Franciscan  Orders — San- 
guinary Persecution — Crusade  against  the  Albigenses — The 
Inquisition  Movement  in  England — John  de  Wycliffe — The 
Lollards — Bohemia no 

IV.  Various   Opinions  respecting    Baptism — Berengar — Peter  of 

Bruys— Henry  of  Lausanne — Arnold  of  Brescia— Cologne — 
England — Lombers — Pope  Lucius  III 123 

V.  Heretics  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Centuries — Wycliffe's 
Sentiments  on  Baptism — The  Bohemians — Baptism  among 
the  Waldenses — Church  Government — Immersion. 141 


THE  REFORMATION   PERIOD. 

I.  Rise  of  the  Reformation — Opinions  held  by  the  Baptists — 
Misrepresented  by  the  Reformers— Their  Wonderful  In- 
crease— Support  under  Sufferings. ....    151 

II.  German  Baptists — Thomas  Munzer — The  Peasant  War  — 
Michaftl  Satler  —  Hans  Schaffler  —  Salzburg — Wolfgang 
Brand-Huebert — The  Burggraf  of  Alzey— Imperial  Edicts..    160 

III.  Persecuting  Tenets  of  the  Reformers — German  Diets — The 
Congregation  at  Steinborn — Leonard  Bernkop — The  Crown 
of  Straw — Johannes  Bair — Hans  Pichner— Hans  Breal — Bap- 
tists in  Italy 169 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAR  PAOK 

IV.  Baptists  in  Switzerland — Zuingli— Concessions  of  Bullinger 
and  Meshovius — Disputations — Drownings — Felix  Mantz 
— Balthazar  Hubmeyer — Louis  Hetzer — Emigration  to  Mo- 
ravia— Jacob  Hutter. 178 

V.  The  Netherlands— Sicke  Snyder— Furious  Edict— The  In- 
quisition— Severities  of  Philip  II.— Torture— Lysken— 
Gerrit  Hase-poot — Joris  Wippe— Private  Executions- 
Horrid  Rackings 19$ 

VI.  Biography  of  Menno  Simon — Account  of  his  Publications — 
Church  Governmint  among  the  Baptists — Missionary  Ex- 
cursions     212 

VII.  Baptists  in  England— Proclamation  of  Henry  VIII.— Lati- 
mer's Sermon  before  Edward  VI.— Baptists  excepted  from 
"Acts  of  Pardon" — Royal  Commissions  against  them — 
Ridley — Cranmer  —  Joan  Boucher  —  Rogers  —  Philpot— 
Bishop  Hooper's  Scruples— George  Van  Pare— Protestant 
Persecutions  Inexcusable — Congregations  in  Essex  and 
Kent— Bonner— Gardiner — Disputations  in  Jail — Queen 
Elizabeth's  Proclamation  against  Baptists — Bishop  Jewel 
—Archbishop  Parker— Dutch  Baptists 231 

VIII.  Enormities  Perpetrated  at  Munster  and  other  places— Injus- 
tice of  Ascribing  them  to  Baptist  Sentiments 249 

THE  TROUBLOUS  PERIOD. 

I.  Baptists  Persecuted  by  all  other  Sects— Liberal  Policy  of 
William,  Prince  of  Orange— The  "  Union  of  Utrecht" — 
Differences  of  Opinion— Persecution  in  Moravia  and  in 

Switzerland 261 

II.  Dutch  Baptists  Pefrsecuted  in  England— Account  of  Hendrick 
Terwoort  and  Jan  Pieters— Their  Martyrdom— Their  Re- 
ligious Sentiments— Whitgift's  Invectives  against  the  Bap- 
tists     270 

IIL  Severity  of  Elizabeth's  Government— Bigotry  of  James  L— 
The    Hampton    Court    Conference  — Emigration  — John 


5  CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  PAGB 

Smyth's  Church — Their  Confessions — Bartholomew  Le- 
gate—Extracts from  Baptist  Publications  on  Liberty  of 
Conscience — The  King's  distress  at  their  Increase 283 

IV  Character  of  Charles  L — Sufferings  during  his  Reign — First 
Particular  Baptist  Church — Samuel  Howe— Dr.  Featley's 
Book — Baptist  Confessions  of  Faith — Toleration  hated  by 
the  Presbyterians — Their  attempts  to  put  down  the  Bap- 
tists— Milton's  Lines — The  Assembly  of  Divines — Outcry 
against  Immersion — Parliamentary  Declaration  in  favor  of 
the  Baptists — Fearful  "  Ordinance"  against  them — Their 
Activity  during  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Protectorate — 
Cromwell's  Baptist  Officers — The  "Triers" — Baptists  in 
Ireland 301 

V.  Character  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. — Commencement  of 
Persecution — Venner's  Rebellion — Disclaimer  by  Baptists 
— Severe  Sufferings — John  James — Act  of  Uniformity — 
The  Aylesbury  Baptists — Benjamin  Keach  Pilloried — Con- 
venticle Act — Five-Mile  Act— Their  Effects 322 

VI.  History  of  the  Broadmead  Church,  Bristol 345 

VII.  Declaration  of  Indulgence — Confession  of  Faith— Fierce 
Persecution  —  Thomas  Delaune  —  The  Duke  of  Mon- 
mouth's Rebellion — Account  of  the  Hewlings  —  Mrs. 
Gaunt — The  Dark  Time — Another  Declaration  of  Indul- 
gence— William  Kiffin— The  Glorious  Revolution 357 

VIII.  Principles  and  Practices  of  the  Denomination — Human  Tra- 
dition Renounced — Freedom  of  Conscience  Demanded 
— Personal  Piety  requisite  to  Church  Fellowship — Purity 
of  Discipline — Cases  cited — Mode  of  Public  Worship — 
Plurality  of  Elders — Communion — Singing — Laying  on  of 
Hands— The  Sabbath 379 

IX.  Biographical  Notices — John  Smyth,  Thomas  Helwj's,  and 
John  Spilsbury — Henry  Denne— Francis  Cornwell,  A.M. 
— Christopher  Blackwood— Major-General  Harrison — CoL 
Hutchinson 391 


CONTENTS.  9 


PAGB 


X.  Biographical  Notices  Continued— Henry  Jessey,  A.M.— 

John  Canne— Vavasor  Powell— Abraham  Cheare 406 

XI.  Biographical  Notices  Continued— John  Toombes,  B.D.— 
Francis  Bampfield,  A.M.— Henry  D'Anvers— Edward  Ter- 
rill— Dr.  Du  Veil— John  Bunyan 421 

XII.  Biographical  Notices  Continued— Thomas  Grantham— Han- 
serd  Knollys— Benjamin  Keach— William  Kiffin— Anec- 
dotes    4J4 

XIII.  Baptists  in  North  America— Church  at  Providence— Bap- 
tists in  Massachusetts  — Persecuting  Enactment  against 
them— The  Whipping  of  Obadiah  Holmes— First  Church 
at  Holmes— First  Church  at  Boston— Newport— Swansea 
—Other  Churches— Roger  Williams— Gregory  Dexter— 
Obadiah  Holmes— John  Miles— Elias  Keach 460 

THE  QUIET  PERIOD. 

L  General  Character  of  the  Period— Baptist  General  Assembly 
in  London— Questions— Particular  Baptist  Fund— Baptist 
Board— The  Deputies— The  Widows'  Fund— The  Book 
Society— Bristol  College— Dr.  John  Ward— Toleration 
Act — Schism  Bill — Dissenters  excluded  from  Office — Re- 
strictions—Relief—Decline of  the  General  Baptists— Com- 
munion Controversy— Effects  of  High  Calvinism  on  the 
Particular  Baptists — Commencement  of  Revival— Fuller 
and  Sutcliffe— State  of  the  Denomination  in  England- 
Foreign  and  Home  Missions 483 

IL  Biographical  Notices— Dr.  John  Gale— John  Skepp— John 
Brine— Dr.  Gill— John  Macgowan— Robert  Robinson- 
Robert  Hall,  Sen.— John  Ryland— The  Stennetts— Benja- 
min ,  Beddome  —  Samuel  Pearce  —  John  Piggott  —  The 
Wallins— Dr.  Andrew  Gifford — Mordecai  Abbott,  Esq. — 
Thomas  and  John  Hollis— Miss  Steele— Mrs.  Seward. . . .   504 

IIL  Progress  of  the  Denomination  in  North  America — Suffer- 
ings   in    New   England— Mrs.    Elizabeth    Backus— Mrs. 


lO  CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  PAGB 

Kimball— Virginia— Whitefield's  Preaching— The  "  New 
Lights  " — First  Churches  in  Different  States — Philadelphia 
Association  —  Other  Associations — Correspondence  with 
London  Ministers — Great  Revivals — Brown  University — 

Nova  Scotia — New  Brunswick — Canada 527 

IV.  Biographical  Notices — Shubael  Steams — Daniel  Marshall 
— Samuel  Harris — John  Gano — Lewis  Lunsford — John 
Waller — Isaac  Backus,  A.M. — Morgan  Edwards — David 
Thomas — Ebenezer  Kinnersley — Oliver  Hart — Drs.  Mer- 
cer, Smith,  Manning,  Foster,  and  Stillman 553 

STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS. 

L  Effects  of  the  Mission  Enterprise — Revivals — Extension  of 
the  Denomination — Statistical  Table — Societies — Diversity 
and  Adaptation  of  Talent — Baptist  Agency  now  employed 
—Peculiarities  of  the  Present  Period — Duties  of  Baptists.  575 


THE   PRIMITIVE  PERIOD, 

11 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

FROM  A.  D.  31  TO  A.  D.  254. 

31.  The  Christian  Church  founded. 

34.  Martyrdom  of  Stephen. 

36.  Conversion  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

41.  Admission  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  church. 

44.  Martyrdom  of  the  Apostle  James. 

50.  So-called  Council  at  Jerusalem,  Acts  x». 

60.  Paul's  voyage  to  Rome. 

63.  Paul  released  from  imprisonment 

64.  Persecution  at  Rome  under  Nero. 
68.  Martyrdom  of  Paul  and  Peter. 
70.  Destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

100.  Death  of  the  Apostle  John. 
166.  Justin  Martyr  put  to  Death. 
201.  Persecution  under  Severus. 
218.  Death  of  Clement  of  Alexandria. 
220.  Death  of  Tertullian. 

249.  The  Decian  Persecution. 

250.  Commencement  of  Monachism. 
254.  Death  of  Origen. 


Baptist  History. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory  Remarks — Paedobaptist  Concessions. 

BAPTISTS  are  often  asked  for  information  respecting 
the  history  of  their  distinctive  opinions  and  prac- 
tices. Inquirers  say  that  statements  various  and  even 
contradictory  are  made  in  their  hearing,  and  they  are 
very  desirous  of  being  put  on  the  right  track,  so  that 
they  may  be  able  to  correct  the  erroneous  and  expose  the 
false.     The  w^riter  will  endeavor  to  meet  their  wishes. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  New  Testament.  Who  can 
read  that  blessed  book  with  serious  attention  without 
coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  religion  of  which  it 
treats  is  personal  and  voluntary,  and  that  none  are  woi'thy 
to  be  called  Christians  but  those  who  "  worship  God  in 
the  Spirit,  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus  and  have  no  confidence 
in  the  flesh?"  (Phil.  iii.  3.)  When  Moses  addressed  the 
Israelites  and  exhorted  them  to  obedience,  he  included 
their  children  in  his  exhortations,  because  the  children  were 
in  the  covenant.  Judaism,  with  all  its  privileges  and  re- 
sponsibilities, was  hereditary.  The  rights  and  duties  of 
the  parents  became  the  rights  and  duties  of  their  off*- 
2  13 


14  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

spring,  as  such.  It  is  not  so  under  the  New  Dispen 
sation.  Men  are  not  born  Cliristians,  but  they  become 
Christians  when  they  repent  and  believe.  "  As  many 
as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the 
sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name ; 
which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God"  (John  i.  12,  13). 
Judaism  was  a  national  institute  :  Christianity  is  an  indi- 
vidual blessing.  The  Jews  were  a  nation,  dealt  with  as 
such,  and  separated  from  other  nations ;  Christians  are 
believers,  taken  out  of  all  nations,  and  in  Christianity 
"  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision  nor  uncir- 
cumcision,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free,  but  Christ 
is  all  and  in  all"  (Col.  iii.  11).  Hence,  when  the  apos- 
tles wrote  to  Christian  churches,  their  mode  of  address 
was  altogether  different  from  that  adopted  by  Moses. 
They  did  not  say,  "'  you  and  your  children,"  or  represent 
the  children  as  in  covenant  with  God,  and  therefore  en- 
titled to  certain  rights  and  bound  to  the  performance  of 
certain  duties.  The  churches  to  which  they  sent  their 
epistles  were  spiritual  societies — that  is,  associations  of 
individuals  professing  "repentance  toward  God  and  faith 
toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  to  whom  they  had  sur- 
rendered themselves,  as  their  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King. 
If  those  individuals  were  parents,  they  were  taught  to 
bring  up  their  childi^en  "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord  ;"  but  their  children  were  not  classed  with 
them.,  as  the  children  of  the  Jews  were,  nor  could  they 
be,  till  they  themselves  also  repented  and  believed.  It 
is  an  obvious  inference  that  no  modern  society  deserves 
to  be  called  a  Chi'istian  church  which  is  not  founded  on 
such  principles  as  have  been  now  explained. 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  15 

If  you  were  to  place  a  New  Testament  in  the  hands  of 
an  intelligent,  impartial  person,  who  had  never  heard  of 
our  divisions  and  denominations,  what  idea  would  he  be 
likely  to  form  of  the  spirit  and  design  of  Christianity,  or 
of  a  Christian  church?  Would  he  not  see,  in  every  part 
of  the  book,  appeals  to  men's  understandings  and  emo- 
tions, and  such  requisitions  as  could  only  be  addressed 
to  those  who  were  capable  of  thinking  and  acting  for 
themselves  ?  Would  he  not  conclude  that  Christianity 
has  to  do  with  mind — that  a  Christian  must  be  a  man  of 
faith,  and  that  a  church  is  a  voluntary  society,  formed  of 
such  men  ? 

We  come  to  the  question  of  baptism.  What  is  bap- 
tism ?  It  is  "  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God"  (i  Pet.  iii.  21).  It  is  "  putting  on  Christ"  (Gal. 
iii,  27).  It  is  the  voluntary  act  of  a  believer,  an  act  of 
obedience  and  self-dedication.  Such  is  the  uniform  tenor 
of  the  history.  So  the  multitudes  went  out  to  John, 
"even  all  the  land  of  Jud^a,  and  they  of  Jerusalem,  and 
were  all  baptized  of  him  in  the  river  of  Jordan"  (Mark  i. 
5).  So  the  Samaritans,  "when  they  believed  Philip 
preaching  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  were  baptized,  both  men 
and  women"  (Acts  viii.  12),  Mark  it  well — "  men  and 
women" — no  children  !  So,  in  later  times,  the  baptized 
were  reminded  of  their  obligations  ;  "  we  are  buried  with 
him  by  baptism  into  death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised 
up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we 
also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life"  (Rom.  vi.  4). 

The  New  Testament  tells  of  the  baptism  of  believers, 
and  of  churches  composed  of  believers.  We  read  of  no 
other  baptism,  no  other  churches.     It  will  not  do  to  say 


td  BAPTIST  HIS  TOR  r. 

in  reply  that  all  who  were  baptized  were  not  believers, 
and  that  all  the  members  of  apostolic  churches  were  not 
sincere.  There  were,  doubtless,  hypocrites  then,  as  there 
are  hypocrites  now.  Even  the  apostles  were  sometimes 
deceived.  But  this  does  not  affect  the  case.  All  who 
were  baptized  professed  to  be  believei's  in  Christ,  and 
were  baptized  as  such.  The  profession  of  faith  was  held 
to  be  essential  to  baptism  and  to  church  fellowship. 
None  could  profess  faith  who  were  incapable  of  exercis- 
ing it.  The  act  of  profession  implied  understanding, 
conviction,  approbation,  choice. 

This,  then,  is  the  starting-point.  Here  is  the  beginning 
of  the  history  of  baptism.  With  the  New  Testament 
only  before  us,  we  find  baptism  connected  with  the  pro- 
fession of  faith.  It  is  a  personal,  voluntary  act ;  and  such 
an  act  only  is  befitting  Christianity. 

But  in  the  Christianity  of  the  nineteenth  century,  or 
what  is  called  such,  there  is  a  service  of  another  kind. 
It  is  sprinkling — not  immersion  ;  and  the  subjects  are  in- 
fants— not  believers.  How  is  this  ?  In  what  manner  was 
it  introduced  ?     How  and  when  did  it  originate  ? 

These  questions  will  be  answered  hereafter.  This 
chapter  will  be  closed  by  placing  before  the  reader  a  few 
extracts  from  Paedobaptist  writers  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
showing  how  the  learned  men  of  these  times  regard  the 
subject,  in  an  historical  point  of  view. 

North  British  Review,  Presbyterian  (ascribed  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Hanna).  "  Scripture  knows  nothing  of  the 
baptism  of  infants.  There  is  absolutely  not  a  single  trace 
of  it  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament."^ 

Professor  Jacobi,  University  of  Berlin,  Reformed 
Church.  "  Infont  baptism  was  established  neither  by 
1  August,  1852. 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  I/ 

Christ  nor  the  apostles.  In  all  places  where  we  find  the 
necessity  of  baptism  notified,  either  in  a  dogmatic  or  his- 
torical point  of  view,  it  jr.  evident  that  it  was  only  meant 
for  those  who  were  capable  of  comprehending  the  word 
preached,  and  of  being  converted  to  Christ  by  an  act  of 
their  own  will."^ 

Dr.  Hagenbach,  Basle,  Reformed  Church.  "  The 
passages  from  Scripture  which  are  thought  to  intimate 
that  infant  baptism  had  come  into  use  in  the  primitive 
church,  are  doubtful,  and  prove  nothing."^ 

Neander,  the  Church  Historian.  "  Baptism  was 
administered  at  first  only  to  adults,  as  men  were  accus- 
tomed to  conceive  baptism  and  faith  as  strictly  connected. 
We  have  all  reason  for  not  deriving  infant  baptism  from 
apostolic  institution  ;  and  the  recognition  of  it  which  fol- 
lowed somewhat  later,  as  an  apostolical  tradition,  serves 
to  confirm  this  hypothesis."  ..."  In  respect  to  the  form 
of  baptism,  it  was,  in  conformity  with  the  original  insti- 
tution and  the  original  import  of  the  symbol,  performed 
by  immersion,  as  a  sign  of  entire  baptism  into  the  Holy 
Spirit,  of  being  entirely  penetrated  by  the  same."^ 

Professor  Stuart,  late  of  Andover,  Congregation- 
alist.  "  There  are  no  commands,  or  plain  and  certain 
examples,  in  the  New  Testament,  relative  to  infant  bap- 
tism." * 

Rev.  Dr.  Hodge,  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  Presby- 
terian. "  In  no  part  of  the  New  Testament  is  any  other 
condition  of  membership  in  the  church  prescribed  tlian 

1  Kitto's  Cydopcedia  of  Biblical  Literature.     Art.  "  Baptism." 
»  History  of  Doctrines,  i.  193. 
»  History  of  the  Church,  i.  310,  3 1 1. 
*  Haynes'  Baptist  Deno7nination,  p.  3 1. 
2  * 


1 8  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

that  contained  in  the  answer  of  Philip  to  the  eunuch  who 
desired  baptism.  The  church,  therefore,  is  in  its  essential 
nature  a  company  of  believers."  ^ 

Rev.  Dr.  Woods,  Congregationalist.  '"We  have  no 
express  precept  or  example  for  infant  baptism  in  all  our 
holy  writings."  '^ 

Dr.  Chalmers,  Presbyterian.  "  The  original  mean- 
ing of  the  word  baptism  is  immersion;  and  though  we 
regard  it  as  a  point  of  iildifference  whether  the  ordinance 
so  named  be  performed  in  this  way  .or  by  sprinkling,  yet 
we  doubt  not  that  the  prevalent  style  of  the  administra- 
tions in  the  apostles'  days  was  of  an  actual  submersion  of 
the  whole  body  under  water."  ^ 

Dr.  Bloomfield,  Episcopalian.  "  There  is  here 
(Rom.  vi.  4)  plainly  a  reference  to  the  ancient  mode  of 
baptism  by  immersion ;  and  I  agree  with  Koppe  and 
Rosenmiilier  (two  German  commentators),  that  there  is 
reason  to  regret  it  should  have  been  abandoned  in  most 
Christian  churches,  especially  as  it  has  so  evidently  a 
reference  to  the  mystic  sense  of  baptism."  * 

Rev.  W.  J.  CoNYBEARE,  M.A.,  i5"//5-co/a!//ara.  '  This 
passage  (  Rom.  vi.  4)  cannot  be  understood  unless  it  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  primitive  baptism  was  1  ^  im- 
mersion." * 

Many  more  quotations  might  be  given,  but  the  e  will 
be  sufficient.  It  will  be  observed  that  none  oJ  these 
writers  are  Baptists.  But  they  do  not  venture  to  affirm 
that  infant  sprinkling  is  derived  from  the  New  Test  .ment. 
Learned  Paedobaptists  generally  admit  that  believeis  only 
were  baptized  in  apostolic  times. 

*  Haynes'  Baptist  Denomination^  P-  3i-     ^  ^^^'i- 

^  Lectures  on  Romans,  ch.  vi.  4.  *  Critical  Digest,  in  '"<jC 

*  Life  and  Writings  of  St.  Paul,  ii.     American  Edition. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Apostolic  Fathers — Justin  Martyr — Irenseus. 

THIS,  then,  is  our  starting-point.  The  baptism  of  the 
New  Testament  is  the  baptism  of  believers.  Our 
next  inquiry  will  be,  How  the  post-apostolic  church 
thought  and  acted  on  this  subject. 

Christian  baptism,  as  instituted  by  the  Saviour,  and 
practiced  by  the  apostles,  was  the  immersion  of  believers 
in  water,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  was  the  declaration  of  their 
adhesion  to  Christ,  and  the  symbol  of  their  death  to  sin. 
It  was  in  every  case  the  act  of  a  free  agent,  and  thus  it 
harmonized  with  the  spiritual  nature  of  Christianity.  All 
this  is  now  generally  admitted. 

The  next  inquiry  is,  Did  the  usages  Oi"  the  period  im- 
mediately succeeding  the  apostolic  accord  with  these 
views  ?  Or  did  they  indicate  any  change  or  any  departure 
from  them? 

Here  it  is  necessary  to  interpose  a  caution.  Apostolic 
example  has  the  force  of  authority.  It  is  the  inspired 
exposition  of  the  law.  Not  so  the  example  of  the  primi- 
tive churches  as  they  are  called,  that  is,  as  they  existed 
after  the  apostolic  age.  The  plainness  of  the  Christian 
ceremonial  offended  those  who  were  fond  of  pomp  and 
show,  and  the  equality  of  the  Christian  brotherhood  of- 

19 


20  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

fended  those  who  loved  power.  Hence  corruptions  crept 
in.  They  were  anticipated  and  foretold  by  the  apostles. 
And  hence  the  necessity  of  distinguishing  between  divine 
law  and  human  tradition.  We  have  no  power  to  change 
the  law,  or  to  make  any  addition  to  it.  The  assumption 
of  such  power  in  primitive  times  was  a  fatal  error,  the 
evil  consequences  of  v/hich  are  felt  to  this  day.  Instead 
of  adhering  strictly  to  the  Scripture  rule,  men  dealt  with 
Christianity  as  they  dealt  with  systems  of  philosophy. 
They  treated  it  as  if  it  were  susceptible  of  improvement, 
and  might  be  accommodated  to  circumstances.  They 
took  .he  liberty  to  engraft  on  it  certain  peculiarities  of 
Judaism,  and  even  of  Paganism.  They  multiplied  forms 
to  the  sore  detriment  of  the  spirit  and  the  life. 

It  has  been  customary  to  appeal  to  the  opinions  and 
practices  of  the  churches  of  the  first  three  centuries  after 
the  apostles.  In  the  controversy  with  the  Church  of 
Rome  it  is  an  available  argument  to  this  extent,  that  it 
takes  from  that  church  the  plea  of  antiquity,  since  it 
proves  that  Romanism,  as  such,  did  not  exist  in  the  above- 
mentioned  period.  Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  first 
steps  toward  Romanism  were  taken.  Professing  Chris- 
tians soon  abandoned  the  high  ground  of  Scripture,  and 
took  pleasure  in  "vain  deceit"  and  "will-worship."  In 
this  they  are  not  examples  for  our  imitation.  We  must 
go  farther  back — to  the  Book  itself — to  the  recorded 
enactments  of  the  Divine  Lawgiver;  and  our  object  will 
be  to  ascertain  how  far,  and  by  whom,  the  Saviour's  will 
has  been  regarded. 

This  can  only  be  accomplished  by  consulting  the  writers 
of  the  tin  es  now  under  consideration.  "  Apostolic  Fa- 
thers" first  claim  attention.     They  are  :  Barnabas,  Her- 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  21 

mas,  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius,  and  Polycarp.  To 
these  some  add  Papias,  a  few  fragments  only  of  whose 
writings  have  been  preserved  by  Eusebius,  the  ecclesias- 
tical historian.  They  contain  no  reference  to  the  subject 
now  before  us. 

The  writings  ascribed  to  Barnabas  and  Hermas  were 
probably  composed  in  the  second  century  by  some  weak- 
minded  Christians,  who  fathered  their  own  poor  effusions 
on  the  coadjutor  of  the  Apostle  Paul  and  the  brother 
mentioned  by  him  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans  (ch.  xvi. 
14).  But  though  they  are  not  genuine  books,  they  may 
be  regarded  as  witnesses  to  the  religious  views  entertained 
by  the  Christians  of  those  times.  In  the  work  ascribed 
to  Barnabas  we  find  the  following  passage  :  "  We  de- 
scend into  the  water  laden  with  sins  and  corruption,  and 
ascend  bearing  fruit,  having  in  the  heart  the  fear  [toward 
God],  and  in  the  spirit  the  hope  toward  Jesus."  ^  There 
are  several  references  to  baptism  in  the  writings  bearing 
the  name  of  Hermas,  some  of  them  exceedingly  fanciful, 
but  there  is  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  infant  baptism  ; 
he  speaks  repeatedly  of  descending  into  the  water,  and 
ascending  out  of  it,  evidently  adverting  to  immersion. 

Let  us  pass  on  to  Clement  of  Rome.  He  was  bishop, 
or  pastor,  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  died  about  the 
j'ear  100.  His  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  is  a  precious 
gem.  Baptism  is  not  mentioned  in  it.  A  second  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians  is  attributed  to  him,  but  without  suf- 
ficient grounds.  There  is  one  sentence  referring  to  bap- 
tism. It  is  as  follows  :  "  If  we  do  not  keep  the  baptism 
pure  and  undefiled,  with  what  confidence  shall  we  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God .?"  ^ 

>  Ch.  ii.  «  Sect.  6. 


22  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Ignatius  comes  next.  He  was  pastor  at  Antloch  in 
Syria,  and  suffered  martyrdom  by  exposure  to  wild  beasts 
at  Rome,  a.d.  ii6.  Several  letters  were  written  by  him, 
which  have  come  down  to  us  in  an  interpolated  state. 
There  are  a  few  allusions  to  baptism.  He  refers  twice  to 
the  baptism  of  our  Saviour  by  John.  He  tells  the  Smyr- 
neans  that  the  ordinance  should  not  be  administered  with- 
out the  bishop.^  In  writing  to  Polycarp  he  uses  this 
military  phraseology  :  "  Let  your  baptism  continue  as  a 
shield,  faith  as  a  helmet,  love  as  a  spear."  ^  .  This  is  all. 

Polycarp  suffered  martyrdom  by  fire  at  Smyrna,  a.d. 
167.  An  epistle  to  the  Philippians  is  attributed  to  him. 
It  does  not  allude  either  to  baptism  or  the  Lord's  supper. 

Justin  Martyr  was  a  philosophic  Christian.  He  was 
put  to  death  at  Rome,  a.d.  166.  In  his  first  "Apology," 
addi-essed  to  the  Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius,  he  gives  the 
following  account  of  baptism  as  practiced  in  his  days : 
"  As  many  as  are  persuaded  and  believe  that  what  we 
teach  is  true,  and  undertake  to  conform  their  lives  to  our 
doctrine,  are  instructed  to  fast  and  pray,  and  entreat  from 
God  the  remission  of  their  past  sins,  we  fasting  and  pray- 
ing together  with  them.  They  are  then  conducted  by  us 
to  a  place  where  there  is  water,  and  are  regenei  ited  in 
the  same  manner  in  which  we  were  ourselves  regenerated. 
For  they  are  then  washed  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father 
and  Lord  of  the  Universe,  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  ^  Observe  ^he  mannei 
in  which  he  speaks  of  baptism.  The  candidates  are 
those  who  are  "persuaded"  and  "believe,"  and  the  ordi- 
nance is  administered,  not  by  sprinkling,  but  by  the  wash- 
ing of  immersion.  Semisch,  the  learned  biographer  of 
1  Sect.  8.  2  Sect.  6.  »  Sect.  79, 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  23 

Justin,  says,  "Whenever  Justin  refers  to  baptism,  adults 
appear  as  the  objects  to  whom  the  sacred  rite  is  admin- 
istered.    Of  infant  bajDtism  he  knows  nothing." 

Irenasus  became  bishop  of  Lyons,  in  France,  a.d.  177, 
and  died  a.d.  202.  He  mentions  baptism  several  times, 
and  seemingly  connects  it  with  regeneration,  as  Justin 
had  done  before  him,  in  the  passage  just  cited  ;  but  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  think  that  neither  Justin  nor  Irenaeus  J 
thought  that  men  were  regenerated  in  or  by  baptism.  1 
Their  object  was  to  show  that  as  the  convert  came  under  ? 
new  obligations  and  entered  into  new  relationships  at  his  \ 
baptism,  it  was  equivalent  to  the  assumption  of  a  new 
life  :  he  was  in  this  profession  "  born  again  unto  God," 
and  publicly  entered  into  the  spiritual  family.  I  am  con- 
firmed in  this  view  of  the  subject  by  another  representa- 
tion given  of  baptism  by  Justin  in  the  course  of  his  nar- 
rative. He  says :  "  This  washing  is  called  '  illumination^ 
because  those  who  learn  these  things  are  enlightened  in 
their  minds."  ^  Baptism  is  not  "  illumination,"  but  it  is 
so  called  because  it  is  connected  with  an  enlightened  state 
of  mind  :  in  like  manner,  baptism  is  called  "  Regenera- 
tion," not  because  it  regenerates,  but  because  it  is  con- 
nected with  a  regenerate  state  and  a  new  life,  profession 
of  which  is  then  made. 

Two  passages  used  to  be  quoted  by  Paedobaptist  writers, 
as  testimonies  in  favor  of  infant  baptism.  One  is  from 
Justin  Martyr :  he  writes  thus :  "  Many  men  and  many 
women,  sixty  and  seventy  years  old,  who  from  children 
have  been  disciples  of  Christ,  preserve  their  continence."  ^ 
The  other  is  from  Irenaeus.  These  are  his  words :  "  He 
came  to  save  all  persons  by  himself;  all,  I  say,  who  are 

1  Sect  80.  «  Aj>ol.  i.  sect.  18. 


24  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

regenerated  by  him  unto  God — infants,  and  children,  and 
boys,  and  young  men,  and  old  men."  But  baptism  is  not 
mentioned  in  either  of  these  passages,  and  modern  critics 
have  confessed  that  they  afford  no  support  to  the  Paedo- 
baptist  cause.  All  that  Justin  means  is,  that  he  knew 
many  persons  who  had  been  disciples  of  Christ  from  early 
life ;  and  he  expressly  connects  "  choice"  and  "  know- 
ledge" with  baptism,  of  which  infants  are  incapable. 
The  language  used  by  Irenseus  "  merely  expresses,"  says 
Hagenbach  (a  German  Psedobaptist),  "  the  beautiful  idea 
that  Jesus  was  Redeemer  in  every  stage  of  life,  and  for 
every  stage  of  life;  but  it  does  not  say  that  he  became 
Redeemer  for  children  by  water  baptism."  ^ 

We  are  now  brought  to  the  close  of  the  second  century. 
But  few  Christian  authors  had  as  yet  appeared.  Is  it  not 
remarkable,  however,  that  in  none  of  their  writings 
which  have  been  preserved  is  there  any  mention  of  infant 
baptism.?  If  it  existed,  it  must  have  been  a  prominent 
thing  in  the  church  transactions  of  the  period.  But  these 
Christians  knew  nothing  of  it.  Neither  Clement  of 
Rome,  nor  Ignatius,  nor  Justin,  nor  any  other  author 
wrote  a  word  which  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  infants 
were  baptized.  There  is  a  singular  difference  in  this  re- 
spect between  the  statements  of  these  Christian  Fathers 
and  the  correspondence  of  modern  Paedobaptist  mission- 
aries. Read  the  letters  of  missionaries  in  the  reports  of 
missionary  societies.  How  careful  they  are  to  give  is 
fill  infcTmation  respecting  the  number  of  children  that 
have  been  baptized,  and  how  numerous  are  the  references 

1  History  of  Doctrmes,  i  193  Dr.  Ira  Chase  has  examined  all  the 
passages  in  Irenaeus  in  which  the  phrase  "  regenerated  unto  God"  oc- 
curs.    See  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  November,  1849. 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  25 

to  them  !  With  what  solicitude  are  arrangements  framed, 
and  their  operation  watched  over,  with  a  view  to  the  re- 
ligious instruction  and  training  of  baptized  children  I 
We  search  the  Christian  writings  of  the  first  two  centuries 
in  vain  for  anything  of  this  kind.  That  the  Christians 
of  those  times  gave  their  children  the  benefit  of  religious 
teaching  and  example  is  not  to  be  doubted  ;  but  they  did 
not  baptize  them  till  they  could  answer  for  themselves, 
and  voluntarily  assume  the  obligations  of  the  Christian 
profession. 

We  have  now  advanced  two  hundred  years,  and  have 
not  yet  found  infant  baptism.     It  will  come  in  sight  soon 
along  with  other  corruptions  and  inventions. 
3 


CHAPTER    III. 

Tertullian— Baptism  of  Children  in  Africa— Origen— First  Appearance 
of  Infant  Baptism — The  Clinics — Christianity  in  England. 

WE  are  now  approaching  the  development  of  those 
corrupting  influences  which  had  been  at  work 
from  the  apostolic  age,  silently  sapping  the  foundations 
of  personal  piety.  In  adverting  to  the  language  employed 
hy  Justin  Martyr  and  Irenaeus,  I  endeavored  to  clear  those 
authors  from  the  imputation  of  unevangelical  sentiments, 
and  so  interpret  their  expressions  in  a  sound  and  safe 
Sense.  But  though  it  may  be  possible  to  hold  them  guilt- 
less, I  fear  that  many  of  their  contemporaries  were  fairly 
open  to  the  charge  of  holding  unscriptural  opinions.  A 
notion  had  grown  up  that  baptism  actually  accomplished 
what  was  professed  in  it.  As  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the 
Spirit  were  often  bestowed  upon  believers  immediately 
after  their  baptism,  men  began  to  think  that  it  was  then 
first  that  the  Spirit  wrought  on  the  soul.  And  as  the  act 
of  obedience  to  the  Saviour  in  the  ordinance  was  com- 
monly associated  with  spiritual  enjoyments  and  manifesta- 
tions, and  .  happy  converts,  like  the  eunuch,  "  went  on 
their  way  rejoicing,"  there  were  some  who  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  what  was  connected  with  baptism  was 
produced  by  it.  If  the  convictions  that  led  the  candidate 
26 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  27 

to  the  baptismal  water,  and  impelled  him  to  the  act  of 
dedication  to  the  Saviour's  service,  were  greatly  strength- 
ened at  his  baptism,  so  that  he  then  experienced  a  more 
intensely  satisfying  consciousness  of  pardon  and  union 
with  Christ,  residts  were  confounded  with  causes.,  an  \ 
the  new  believer  was  taught  to  ascribe  to  baptism  the 
blessings  which  he  had  in  foct  enjoyed  before,  but  which 
he  realized  more  vividly  when  he  obeyed  the  Lord. 

This  step  taken,  the  transition  to  yet  more  perilous 
errors  and  evils  was  easy.  When  baptism  was  thus  in- 
vested with  a  kind  of  supernatural  power,  the  outward 
act  was  soon  substituted  for  the  spiritual  qualification. 
Instead  of  directing  inquiries  to  tiie  atonement,  and  en- 
couraging them  to  seek  by  prayer  for  the  teaching  and 
aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  religious  instructions  of  that 
age  expatiated  on  the  vast  powers  of  baptism.  Tertul- 
lian,  for  instance,  a  Christian  writer  who  flourished  at  the 
close  of  the  second  and  the  commencement  of  the  third 
century,  "  declares  the  following  spiritual  blessings  to  be 
consequent  upon  baptism:  remission  fi-om  sins,  deliver- 
ance from  death,  regeneration,  and  participation  in  the 
Holy  Spirit.  He  calls  it  the  '  sacrament  of  washing,'  the 
'blessed  saci'ament  of  water,'  the  'laver  of  regene- 
ration.'" ^ 

When  such  opinions  as  these  were  entertained,  is  it  not 
evident  that  the  door  was  open  to  manifold  abuses,  and 
that  those  who  had  so  far  departed  from  Christian  truth 
would  be  likely  eno  igh  to  interfere  with  Christian  worship 
and  obedience  ? 

Tertullian  was  a  native  of  Carthage  in  Africa,  and 
spent  most  of  his  life  in  that  city.     It  is  supposed  that  he 

'  Bishop  Kaye's  Tertullian,  p.  432. 


28  '  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

died  about  the  year  320.  His  tract,  "  De  Bapdsmo" 
was  probably  written  twenty  years  before  his  death.  From 
that  tract  and  from  other  writings  of  his,  we  learn  that 
at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  there  were  some 
strange  additions  to  the  ordinance  of  baptism.  The  new 
convert  was  placed  among  the  catechumens,  that  he 
might  be  fully  instructed  in  the  foith.  After  a  sufficient 
probation  he  was  admitted  to  baptism.  The  following 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  it  was  administered  is 
taken  from  the  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Second  and 
Third  Centuries,  illustrated  from  the  Writings  of  Tertul- 
lian,"  by  the  late  Bishop  of  Bristol : 

"  The  candidate,  having  been  prepared  for  its  due  re- 
ception b}^  frequent  pra3'ers,  fasts,  and  vigils,  professed 
in  the  presence  of  the  congregation  and  under  the  hand 
of  the  president,  that  he  renounced  the  devil,  his  pomp, 
and  angels.  He  was  then  plunged  into  the  water  three 
times,  in  allusion  to  the  Three  Persons  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  making  certain  responses  which,  like  the  other 
forms  here  mentioned,  were  not  prescribed  in  Scripture, 
but  rested  on  custom  and  tradition.  He  then  tasted  a 
mixture  of  milk  and  honey — was  anointed  with  oil,  in 
allusion  to  the  practice  under  the  Mosaic  Dispensation, 
of  anointing  those  who  were  appointed  to  the  priesthood, 
since  all  Christians  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  supposed  to  be 
priests — and  was  signed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross 
Lastly,  followed  the  imposition  of  hands,  the  origin  of 
which  ceremony  is  referred  by  our  author  to  the  bene- 
diction pronounced  by  Jacob  upon  the  sens  of  Joseph."^ 

The  administration  of  baptism  was  at  that  early  pe- 
riod encumbered  by  ceremonies  of  merely  human  inven- 

^  r-  434- 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  29 

tion  ;  in  fact,  Tcrtullian  complains  in  another  work  that 
"various  forms  and  observances  had  been  introtkiced  into 
tlic  Christian  worship,  of  which  some  bore  too  close  a 
resemblance  to  the  customs  and  practices  of  the  Gen- 
tiles." The  signing  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  was  a 
superstition  early  practiced  among  the  Christians.  They 
crossed  themselves  perpetually.  Whatever  they  under- 
took or  engaged  in — when  they  went  out — when  they 
returned  home — when  they  dressed  themselves,  or  put 
on  their  shoes,  or  sat  down  to  a  meal,  or  went  to  the  bath 
or  to  bed — the  sign  of  the  cross  was  associated  with 
everything.  We  need  not  wonder  that  the  heathen  sus- 
pected it  to  savor  of  magic. 

I  have  mentioned  these  particulars  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  re- 
ligious declension  had  considerably  advanced.  No  one 
will  now  be  surprised  at  hearing  that  an  attempt  was 
made  to  extend  the  administration  of  baptism,  in  an  un- 
warrantable manner.  It  is  referred  to  by  Tertullian  in 
his  tract,  "  De  Baftismo^^  in  terms  of  strong  disapproval. 
Some  persons  had  introduced  children  (not  infants)  to 
baptism,  or  advocated  the  administration  of  the  ordinance 
to  them.  Tertullian  indignantly  reproves  the  practice. 
"  Let  them  come,"  he  says,  "  when  they  are  taught 
to  whom  they  may  come  ;  let  them  become  Christians 
when  they  are  able  to  know  Christ.  Why  should  this 
innocent  age  hasten  to  the  remission  of  sins?"^  Now,  is 
•t  not  obvious  tliat  Tertullian  was  entirely  unacquainted 
with  /;//««/ baptism,  and  that  this  childroi's  baptism, 
which  then  first  began  to  be  talked  of,  was  regarded  by 
him  as  an  unauthorized  innovation.''  The  sign  of  the 
'  Dc  Baptismo,  ch.  xviii. 


30  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

cross,  the  giving  of  milk  and  honey,  and  similar  cere- 
monies, were  comparatively  small  matters,  trifling  circum- 
stances ;  they  were  uncalled-for  additions  to  the  ordinance, 
and  were  so  fiir  mischievous,  but  they  did  not  change  it. 
It  was  still  connected  with  knowledge,  and  repentance, 
and  faith.  But  the  admission  of  children,  if  they  were 
not  old  enough  to  repent  and  believe,  would  change  the 
ordinance.  It  would  dissever  it  from  those  religious  pre- 
req  .'sites  with  which  it  had  been  hitherto  unifoii/ily 
associated.  The  Gentile  or  Jewish  rites  which  had  been 
added  to  it,  tended  to  make  it  more  imposing,  and  so 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  weak-minded ;  but  to  allow 
children  to  be  baptized,  who  were  not  subjects  of  repent- 
ance and  faith,  would  be,  in  Tertullian's  opinion,  to  revo- 
lutionize the  ordinance  altogether.  We  act  more  wisel}-, 
he  remarked,  in  temporal  matters  ;  surely  we  should  not 
admit  to  baptism  those  whom  we  consider  unfit  to  man- 
age temporal  affairs.     So  he  argued. 

The  case  is  quite  clear.  Children  (not  infants^  but 
probably  children  from  six  to  ten  years  old)  are  first 
mentioned  in  connection  with  the  ordinance  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  third  century,  and  then  with  disap- 
probation. "Tertullian's  opposition,"  the  learned  Ba- 
ron Bunsen  remarks,  "  is  to  the  baptism  of  young,  grow- 
ing children  ;  he  does  not  say  a  word  about  ^ew-born 
infants."  ^ 

Some  writers  have  laboured  hard  to  prove  that  Origen 
referred  to  infant  baptism  in  his  writings,  as  a  fact  exist- 
ing in  his  times,  and  that  he  assigned  to  it  an  ajDostolic 
original.  Origen  was  the  most  learned  Christian  of  that 
age.     He  flourished  from  a.d.   203  to  a.d.  254,  and  at- 

"^  Christianity  and  Mankind,  W.  1 1 5. 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  3! 

tained  high  repute,  both  as  a  teacher  in  the  ;;atcchetical 
school  of  Alexaiuhia,  and  as  an  author.  But  his  refer- 
ences are  to  child  baptism,  not  to  uifcuit  baptism,  and 
the  diflerence  between  him  and  TertuHian  is  that  the  hit- 
ter decidedly  objected  to  the  practice,  while  Origen  spoke 
of  it  with  approbation.  How  far,  however,  did  that 
approbation  extend.''  Only  to  the  baptism  of  such  chil- 
then  as  were  capable  of  instruction,  and  gave  indications 
of  personal  piety ;  for  he  uniformly  taught  that  "  the 
benefit  of  baptism  depended  on  the  deliberate  purpose  of 
the  baptized."  His  reply  to  an  objection  of  Celsus  ex- 
presses his  views.  That  heathen  writer,  having  stated 
that  "intelligent  and  respectable  persons"  were  invited 
to  initiation  in  tlie  heathen  mysteries,  proceeds  thus: 
"  And  now  let  us  hear  what  persons  the  Christians  invitt . 
Whoever,  they  say,  is  a  sinner,  whoever  is  unintelligent, 
whoever  is  a  mere  child,  and,  in  short,  whoever  is  a  mi;  • 
erable  and  contemptible  creature,  the  kingdom  of  Go  1 
shall  receive  him."  Origen  answers  him  in  the  followiu^^ 
manner :  ^  In  reply  to  these  accusations  we  say,  it  is  one 
thing  to  invite  those  who  are  diseased  :'n  the  soul  to  a 
healing,  and  it  is  another  to  invite  the  healthy  to  a  know- 
ledge and  discernment  of  things  more  divine.  And  we, 
knowing  the  difference,  first  call  men  to  be  healed.  We 
exhort  sinners  to  come  to  the  instruction  that  teaches 
them  not  to  sin,  and  the  unintelligent  to  come  to  that 
which  produces  in  them  understanding,  and  the  littL'- 
children  tc  rise  In  elevation  of  thought  to  the  vm)i^  and 
the  miserable  to  come  to  a  more  fortunate  state,*or — what 
is  more  proper  to  say — a  state  of  happiness.  But  when 
those  of  the  exhorted  that  make  jDrogress  show  that  they 
have  been  cleansed  by  the  word,  and,  as  much  as  possi- 


32  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

ble,  have  lived  a  better  life,  then  we  invite  them   to  be 
initiated  amongst  us."  ^ 

Such  children  as  Origen  here  describes  would  be  "  ini- 
tiated," that  is,  baptized,  by  any  Baptists  in  these  days. 
If  they  have  been  "  cleansed  by  the  word,"  what  more 
can  we  require?  Tertullian's  objection  seems  to  have 
arisen  from  the  undue  eagerness  of  some  persons  to  hurry 
children  to  the  baptismal  water  before  they  could  fully 
understand  and  receive  the  truth.  But  neither  of  these 
Fathers  refers  to  infants.  They  ascribe  to  baptism  influ- 
ences which  are  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. They  used  language  implying  that  an  outward 
ceremony  produced  an  inward,  spiritual  eflect.  They 
taught  the  necessity  of  baptism  in  order  to  pardon  and 
salvatj  jn.  And  yet  they  also  maintained  the  necessity  of 
repentance  and  faith  ;  and  therefore  they  demanded,  that 
if  young  children  were  baptized,  they  should  not  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  ordinance  till  they  were  "  able  to  know 
Christ,"  and  were  "•  cleansed  by  the  word." 

We  have  at  length  arrived  at  the  origin  of  Infant  Bap- 
tism. Its  birth-place  was  a  district  of  Northern  Africa, 
one  of  the  least  enlightened  portions  of  the  earth  in  that 
age  ;  the  time,  the  middle  of  the  third  centui'y  ;  the  oc- 
casion, certain  unscriptural  notions  which  had  gradually 
gained  prevalence  respecting  the  design  and  efficacy  of 
the  baptismal  rite.  Having  adverted  to  those  extrava- 
gances in  a  former  chapter,  it  is  unnecessary  to  adduce 
further  proof.  But  the  reader  can  easily  trace  the  pro- 
gress of  oc-ror.  When  believers,  newly  baptized,  rejoiced 
in  the   forgiveness  of  sin,  and  exhibited  satisfactory  evi- 

1  See  Christian  Review,  April,  i85j|.,  containing  an  article  by  Hr.  Ira 
Chase  on  the  "  Opinions  of  Origen  respecting  Baptism." 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  33 

dence  of  a  regenerated  state,  men  soon  began  to  regard 
pardon  and  regeneration  as  the  effects  of  baptism.     Hence 
sprung  the  opinion  of  its  necessity  to   salvation.     That 
being   admitted,  the  question  of  time  came  next  under 
consideration.    Was  it  not  desirable  to  obtain  pardon  and 
regeneration   at  the   earliest  possible    period.''     And  be- 
sides, were  not   infants   circumcised   under   the  Jewish 
Law.?      These  questions  were   in  the   mind   of  Fidus,  a 
bishop  of  some  place  in  Northern  Africa.     We  can  have 
no  doubt  as  to  his  duty  under  such  circumstances.     He 
ought  to  have  searched  the  New  Testament,  if  he  had 
one — we  cannot  be  sure  of  it,  for  books  were  scarce  and 
dear  in  those  days — and  inquired  into  the  differences  be- 
tween the  Old  and  the  New  Dispensations,  the  carnal 
qnd  the  spiritual  Israel.     If  he  had  carried  on  the  inquiry 
fairl}^,  his  difficulties  would  have  been  removed  without 
further  reference.     But  he  either  did  not  or  would  not 
conduct  the  requisite  investigation.     Cyprian  was  at  that 
time  bishop  of  Carthage,  and  was  reverenced  as  a  great 
authority  in  all  church  affairs.     Fidus  wrote  to  Cyprian. 
Certain  persons,  he  said,  had  advised  the  baptism  of  in- 
fants immediately  after  birth  ;  but  he  could  not  agree  with 
them,  and  particularly  for  this  reason,  that  whereas  it  was 
customary  to  receive  the  baptized   with  a  brotherly  kiss, 
a    newly-born   infant    could    not   be    so    received,    being 
treated  as  unclean  for  several  days  after  its  coming  into 
the  world.     He  thought  it  best,  therefore,  to  wait  till  the 
eighth  day,  and  to  baptize  the  infant  at  the  same  time  at 
which,  under  the  law,  it  would  have  been  circumcised. 
But  he  asked  advice  of  Cyprian,  who  laid  the  case  before 
a  council  which  had  assembled  at  Carthage,  in  the  year 


34  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Sixty-six  bishops  met  on  that  occasion.  The  answer  is 
given  in  a  letter  written  by  Cyprian,  from  which  the  fol 
lowing  extract  is  taken  : 

"  None  of  us  could  agree  to  your  opinion.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  the  opinion  of  us  all,  that  the  mercy  and 
grace  of  God  must  be  refused  to  no  human  being,  so 
soon  as  he  is  born  ;  for  since  our  Lord  says  in  his  gospel, 
'  The  Son  of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  souls,  but 
to  save  them,*  so  everything  that  lies  in  our  power  must 
be  done  that  no  soul  may  be  lost.  As  God  has  no  re- 
spect of  persons,  so  too  he  has  no  respect  of  age,  offering 
himself  as  a  Father  with  equal  freeness  to  all,  that  they 
may  be  enabled  to  obtain  the  heavenly  grace.  As  to 
what  you  say,  that  the  child  in  its  first  days  of  its  birth  is 
not  clean  to  the  touch,  and  that  each  of  us  would  shrink 
from  kissing  such  an  object,  even  this,  in  our  opinion, 
ought  to  present  no  obstacles  to  the  bestowment  of  heav- 
enly grace ;  for  it  is  written,  '  To  the  pure  all  things  are 
pure  ;'  and  none  of  us  ought  to  revolt  at  that  which  God 
has  condescended  to  create.  Although  the  child  be  but 
just  born,  yet  it  is  no  such  object  that  any  one  ought  to 
demur  at  kissing  it  to  impart  the  divine  grace  and  the 
salutation  of  peace,  since  each  of  us  must  be  led,  by  his 
own  religious  sensibility,  to  think  upon  the  creative  hands 
of  God,  fresh  from  the  completion  of  their  work,  which 
we  kiss  in  the  newly-formed  man  when  we  take  in  our 
arms  what  God  has  made.  As  to  the  rest,  if  anything 
could  prove  a  hindrance  to  men  in  the  attainment  of 
grace,  much  rather  might  those  be  hindered  whose  ma- 
turer  years  have  involved  them  in  heavy  sins.  But  if 
even  the  chief  of  sinners,  who  have  been  exceedingly 
guilty  before  God,  receive  the  forgiveness  of  sin  on  com- 


THE  PRIMITIVE    PERIOD.  35 

ing  to  the  faith,  and  no  one  is  precUided  from  baptism 
and  from  grace,  how  much  less  should  the  child  be  kept 
back,  wliich,  as  it  is  but  just  born,  cannot  have  sinned, 
but  has  only  brought  with  it,  by  its  descent  from  Adam, 
the  infection  of  the  old  death  ;  and  which  may  the  more 
easily  obtain  the  remission  of  sins,  because  the  sins 
which  are  forgiven  it  are  not  its  own,  but  those  of  an- 
other ?"  ^ 

This  is  a  very  misty  theology.  In  fact,  the  religion  of 
great  numbers  in  the  third  century  was  a  compound  of 
Judaism  and  Paganism,  with  a  slight  seasoning  of  Chris- 
tianity. Gaudy  ceremonials  were  delighted  in,  and  the 
strange  power  which  had  been  ascribed  to  magical  influ- 
ences was  transferred  to  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel. 
The  immersion  in  water,  the  eating  of  the  bread,  and  the 
drinking  of  the  wine  were  associated  in  their  minds,  as 
producing  causes,  with  spiritual  transformations  and  bless- 
ings. The  bodily  act  was  substituted  for  the  mental,  and 
"  faith  was  made  void."  I  do  not  affirm  that  every  pro- 
fessing Christian  was  enveloped  in  this  darkness ;  but  it 
is  too  evident  that  the  views  of  the  majority  wei-e  con- 
fused, and  that,  under  the  leadership  of  such  men  as  Cyp- 
rian, the  churches  were  fast  drifting  into  dangerous 
notions. 

Nevertheless,  they  were  consistent  in  some  things. 
They  did  not  separate  baptism  from  the  Lord's  supper, 
as  is  done  by  all  Ptedobaptists  in  these  times.  They  held 
that  those  who  were  entitled  to  the  one  had  an  equal 
1  ight  to  the  other.  When  the  infant  had  been  plunged 
into  the  baptismal  water,  it  was  considered  a  member  of 

*  Labbe  and  Cossart,  Concil.  i.,  742-744,  Cypriani  Opera,  Pars  I., 
p.  168-171.     Ed.  Goldhorn,  Leipsic,  183S. 


36  BAPTIST  HIS  TOR  2'. 

the  church,  and  received  the  Lord's  supper.  If  it  was 
too  young  to  eat  the  bread,  they  poured  the  wine  down  its 
throat.  This,  too,  originated  in  Northern  Africa,  and 
there  onlj'^  we  find  it  in  the  period  now  under  our 
notice.^ 

Another  innovation  is  traced  to  the  third  century.  I 
alhide  to  clinic  baptism,  that  is,  the  baptism  of  sick  per- 
sons confined  to  their  beds.  It  was  not  baptism,  properly 
so  called,  as  they  were  only  sprinkled  with  water,  or  had 
water  poured  on  them.  The  I'eason  alleged  for  this  de- 
parture from  apostolic  practice  was  the  necessity  of  bap- 
tism to  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  and  the  consequent 
danger  of  deferring  it,  lest  the  sickness  should  terminate 
in  death.  Thus  one  error  led  to  another.  If  those  clinics 
recovered,  they  were  not  baptized  afterward  ;  but  they 
were  not  admitted  to  tlie  ministry.  Novatian,  however, 
was  an  exception  to  this  rule.  He  had  been  sprinkled 
or  received  a  pouring  on  his  bed,  when  his  dissolution 
was  hourly  expected.  After  his  recovery,  his  eminent 
qualifications  for  the  ministry  induced  the  churches  to 
deviate  from  the  established  custom,  and  he  was  ordained. 
Subsequently,  he  took  a  high  stand  as  a  reformer. 

We  are  now  brought  to  the  year  254,  the  date  of 
Origen's  death.  The  downward  tendency  is  befc-e  us. 
Baptism,  at  first  the  voluntary  act  of  a  believer  in  Christ, 
has  become,  in  numerous  instances,  the  performance  of  a 
ceremony  upon  an  unconscious  infant.  In  all  these  cases 
the  design  of  the  Christian  profession  is  subverted.  Mem- 
bers are  introduced  into  the  churches  who  are  necessarily 
destitute  of  the  spiritual  qualifications  enumerated  in  the 

1  Bingham's  Christian  Antiquities,  book  xii.,  chap,  i.,  sect.  3,  and 
book  XV.,  chap,  iv.,  sect.  7. 


THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD.  37 

New  Testament.  It  does  not  require  the  gift  of  prophecy 
to  foretell  the  disastrous  consequences.  Religious  de- 
clension was  both  the  cause  and  the  effect  of  the  intro- 
duction of  infant  baptism.  The  cause,  inasmuch  as  so 
great  a  change  could  not  have  taken  place  if  the  Christian 
mind  had  not  previously  lost  a  due  sense  of  the  spiritual 
nature  of  religion :  the  effect,  since  the  unholy  mixture 
arising  from  the  new  arrangement  could  not  but  prove 
injurious  to  the  interests  of  piety.  "  What  communion 
hath  light  with  darkness.?" 

It  may  be  expected  that  some  account  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity  into  England  should  be  given.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  the  gospel  reached  the  country  at  an 
early  period,  by  means  of  merchants  of  Gaul  in  the  first 
instance,  and  of  missionaries  afterward.  But  dates  and 
details  are  wanting.  The  statements  of  Tertullian  and 
others  are  rather  rhetorical  flourishes  than  truthful  records. 
That  Joseph  of  Arimathea  went  to  England,  with  several 
companions,  and  built  a  church  "  made  of  rods,  wattled 
or  interwoven,"  in  which  they  "watched,  prayed,  fasted, 
preached,  having  high  meditations  under  a  /ozy  roof,  and 
large  hearts  betwixt  narrow  walls," '  is  now  generally 
acknowledged  to  be  a  fable.  That  the  Apostle  Paul 
visited  Britain  when  he  traveled  "  to  the  extreme  bounds 
of  the  West,"  as  Clemens  Romanus  expressed  it,  is  easier 
said  than  proved.  That  "  Claudia,"  mentioned  by  Paul 
in  2  Tim,  iv.  21,  was  of  British  origin,  is  a  conjecture, 
and  nothing  more  The  story  of  King  Lucius,  as  Dean 
Milman  observes,  "  is  a  legend."  ^  We  must  be  content 
to  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  special  instrument  employed 

1  Fuller's  Church  History,  cent,  i.,  sect  13. 
^  History  of  Latin  Christianity,  book  iv.,  chap.  iii. 
4 


38 


BAPTIST  HISTORT. 


for  the  enlightenment  of  England,  and  can  only  remark 
that  the  Christian  church,  when  planted  there,  harmon- 
ized, in  its  doctrines  and  services,  with  the  churches  of 
Gaul,  from  which  country  missionary  expeditions  naturally 
took  their  westward  course. 


THE  TRANSITION   PERIOD, 

39 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

FROM  A.  D.  254  TO  A.  D.  604. 

258.  Martyrdom  of  Cyprian. 

303.  General  persecution. 

306.  Accession  of  Constantine. 

311.  Rise  of  Donatism. 

312.  Constantine's  alleged  vision  of  tlie  cross. 
318.  Rise  of  Arianism. 

325.  Council  of  Nice — the  First  General  CoundL 

337.  Baptism  and  Death  of  Constantine. 

373.  Death  of  Athanasius. 

381.  Second  General  Council, at  Constantinopl  j. 

406.  Rise  of  Pelagianism. 

420.  Death  of  Jerome. 

428.  Rise  of  Nestorianism. 

430.  Death  of  Augustine. 

431.  Third  General  Council,  at  Ephesus. 
451.  Fourth  General  Council, at  Chalcedon. 
476.  Dissolution  of  the  Western  Empire. 
529.  The  Benedictine  Rule  established. 

553.  Fifth  General  Council,  at  Constantinople. 
596.  The  Mission  of  Augustine,  the  monk,  to  England. 
604.  Death  of  Gregory  the  Great. 
40 


in  ...mmii      '  '— ii__ll"I3 


M     H     II     II     II 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Catechumens — Progress^  of  Infant  Baptism — Delay  of  Baptism- 
Gregory  Nazianzen — Chrysostom — Basil — Ephrem  of  Edessa — The 
Emperor  Constantine — Immersion  still  the  Mode. 

THE  statements  made  in  former  chapters  are  abun- 
dantly confirmed  by  impartial  divines  and  histo- 
rians. One  of  the  most  learned  men  of  the  present  day, 
the  Baron  Bunsen,  formerly  Prussian  ambassador  in 
England,  writes  thus  in  his  work  entitled,  "  Christianity 
and  Mankind  :" 

"  The  apostolical  church  made  the  school  the  connect- 
ing link  between  herself  and  the  woi'ld.  The  object  of 
this  education  was  admission  into  the  free  society  and 
brotherhood  of  the  Christian  community.  The  church 
adhered  rigidly  to  the  principle  as  constituting  the  true 
purport  of  the  baptism  ordained  by  Christ,  that  no  one 
can  be  a  member  of  the  communion  of  saii.ts  but  by  /i/s 
ozcn  free  act  and  deed,  his  own  solemn  vow  made  in 
presence  of  the  church.  It  was  with  this  understanding 
that  the  candidate  for  baptism  was  immersed  in  water, 
and  admitted  as  a  brother  upon  his  confession  of  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  understood, 
therefore,  in  the  exact  sense  (i  Pet.  iii.  21),  not  as  being 
a  mere  bodily  purification,  but  as  a  vow  made  to  God 
4«  41 


43  ■  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

with  a  good  conscience  through  faith  in  Jesus  Chi-ist. 
This  vow  was  preceded  by  a  confession  of  Christian  faith 
made  in  the  face  of  the  church,  in  which  the  catechumen 
expressed  that  faith  in  Christ,  and  in  the  sufficiency  of  the 
salvation  offered  by  him.  It  was  a  vow  to  Mve  for  the 
time  to  come  to  God  and  for  his  neighbor,  not  to  the 
world  and  for  self;  a  vow  of  faith  in  his  becoming  a 
child  of  God,  through  the  communion  of  his  only  begot- 
ten Son,  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;  a  vow  of  the  most  solemn 
kind,  for  life  and  for  death.  The  keeping  of  this  pledge 
was  the  condition  of  continuance  in  the  church  ;  its  in- 
fringement entailed  repentance  or  excommunication.  All 
church  discipline  was  based  upon  this  voluntary  pledge, 
and  the  responsibility  thereby  self-imposed.  But  how 
could  such  a  vow  be  received  without  examination  }  How 
could  such  examination  be  passed  without  instruction  and 
observation  .'* 

"  As  a  general  rule,  the  ancient  church  fixed  three 
years  for  this  preparation,  supposing  the  candidate, 
whether  heathen  or  Jew,  to  be  competent  to  receive  it. 
With  Christian  children  the  condition  was  the  Game,  ex- 
cept that  the  term  of  probation  was  curtailed  according 
to  circumstances.  P^edobaptism  in  the  more  modern 
sense,  meaning  thereby  the  baptism  of  new-born  infants 
with  the  vicarious  jjromises  of  parents  and  other  sponsors, 
was  utterly  zmknown  to  the  early  church.,  not  only 
down  to  the  e?id  of  the  second,  but  indeed,  to  the  jniddU 
of  the  third  century."  ^ 

The  catechumen  institution  may  be  traced  back  io  an 
early  period — as  far  as  the  second  century.  At  first,  as 
we  gather  from  the  New  Testament,  converts  were  bap- 

>  II.  pp.  105,  106. 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  43 

lized  as  soon  as  they  acknowledged  Christ.  Afterward, 
it  was  judged  expedient  to  prepare  them  for  baptism  by 
a  course  of  instruction,  generally  extending,  as  Baron 
Bunsen  states  in  the  above-cited  passage,  to  three  years. 
In  the  first  ages  they  experienced  Christianity,  and  then 
professed  it.  In  after-times  they  learned  Christianity, 
and  that,  in  too  many  instances,  was  all ;  conversion  and 
experience  were  unknown.  But  this  catechumenical  sys- 
tem was  adapted  to  those  only  who  were  able  to  learn, 
and  therefore  excluded  infants.  Its  very  existence  was 
incompatible  with  infant  baptism,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  when  the  latter  became  general  the  former  dis- 
appeared, or  dwindled  down  to  an  unmeaning  form.  But 
in  the  period  which  is  now  before  us  the  catechumens 
were  a  distinct  order.  Certain  persons,  called  catechists, 
were  appointed  to  instruct  them.  They  occupied  a 
separate  place  in  Christian  assemblies,  and  were  required 
to  withdraw  before  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper, 
which  they  were  not  permitted  to  witness.  From  tlie 
Latin  phrase  used  in  dismissing  the  assembly,  the  whole 
service  was  called  "  Mlssa"  from  which  the  English 
word  "  mass"  is  derived.  There  was  the  Missa  Cate- 
chumenorutn^  or  service  of  the  catechumens,  and  the 
Missa  Fideliutn^  or  service  of  the  faithful ;  the  former 
comprising  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  sermon  ; 
the  latter,  the  Lord's  supper  and  the  devotional  exercises 
which  preceded  and  accompanied  it,  denoting  the  fellow- 
ship of  believers,  to  which  class  the  catechumens  did  not 
belong  till  after  their  baptism. 

It  is  a  very  noticeable  fact,  tliat  the  baptismal  service, 
as  prescribed  in  the  earliest  liturgies,  was  prepared  for 
catechumens  only.     There  was  no  provision  iox  infants. 


44  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

Had  infant  baptism  been  then  in  existence,  the  ecclesias- 
tical arrangements  would  have  recognized  it,  and  there 
would  have  been  a  twofold  service,  as  there  is  now  in  the 
Clmrch  of  England — one  for  infants  and  the  other  for 
"  those  of  riper  years." 

I  have  called  the  period  from  A.  D.  254  to  A.  D.  604  the 
"  Transition  Period,"  because,  as  far  as  baptism  was  con- 
cerned, and,  indeed,  in  many  other  particulars  which 
might  be  adduced,  if  needful,  the  ecclesiastical  system 
was  in  a  formative  state.  It  was  neither  one  thing  nor 
the  other,  but  a  mixture  of  incongruities.  The  cate- 
chumenical  arrangement  was  founded  on  the  theory  of 
baptism  on  a  personal  confession  of  faith,  and  so  far  ac- 
corded with  the  New  Testament.  But  infant  baptism 
had  sprung  up  in  Northern  Africa,  and  was  gradually 
extending  itself  through  the  powerful  influence  of  Augus- 
tine, bishop  of  Hippo,  who  wrote  largely  on  the  subject. 
His  sheet-anchor  in  the  argument  was  the  supposed  effi- 
cacy of  baptism  in  removing  the  defilement  of  original 
sin.  These  two  theories  were  in  opposition  to  each  other, 
for  if  all  candidates  for  baptism  were  to  become  catechu- 
mens and  receive  preparatoiy  instruction,  infant  baptism 
had  no  place.  Yet  there  it  was,  daily  gaining  ground. 
Augustine's  authority  gave  it  the  advantage  in  the  West ; 
but  in  the  East  the  baptism  of  children  from  three  to  ten 
years  of  age,  who  could  in  some  sort  answer  for  them- 
selves, lingered  much  longer.  And  great  numbers  fol- 
lowed the  examjile  of  the  Emperor  Constintine,  who  de- 
ferred his  baptism  till  the  latest  possible  period,  that  all 
his  sins  might  be  washed  away  at  once,  as  he,  poor  man, 
vainly  imagined  they  would  be,  by  the  administration  of 
the  ordinance.     Thus  we  find  a  great  diversity  of  prac- 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  45 

tice.  There  was  infant  baptism  spreading  from  North 
Africa — child  baptism  prevalent  in  the  East — catechumen 
baptism,  properly  so  called,  the  ordinary  mode  of  admit- 
ting converts — ar.d  procrastinated  baptism,  including  such 
cases  as  Constantine's.  It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  this 
period  is  rightly  termed  the  "  Transition  Period." 

Neander  says,  "  It  was  still  very  far  from  being  the 
case,  especially  in  the  Greek  Church,  that  infant  baptism, 
although  acknowledged  to  be  necessary,  was  generally 
introduced  into  practice.  Partly,  the  same  mistaken  no- 
tions which  arose  from  confounding  the  thing  represented 
by  baptism  with  the  outward  rite,  and  which  afterwai'd 
led  to  the  over-valuation  of  infant  baptism,  and  partly, 
the  frivolous  tone  of  thinking,  the  inditlerence  to  all  higher 
concerns,  which  characterized  so  many  who  had  only  ex- 
changed the  Pagan  for  a  Christian  outside — all  this  to- 
gether contributed  to  bring  it  about,  that  among  the 
Christians  of  the  East,  infant  baptism,  though  acknow- 
ledged in  theory  to  be  necessary,  yet  entered  so  rarely  attd 
ivith  so  much  dijiculty  into  the  church-life  during  the 
first  half  of  this  period."  ^ 

"  The  baptism  of  infants,"  Gieseler  observes,  "  did  not 
become  universal  till  after  the  death  of  Augustine."  ^ 

Had  infant  baptism  been  universally  regarded  as  a 
divine  ordinance,  it  would  have  been  everywhere  observed, 
and  Christian  parents  would  have  been  scrupulously 
heedful  of  their  duty  toward  their  children  in  this  matter. 
But  it  was  not  so.  Some  of  the  best  men  of  the  time 
were  children  of  pious  parents,  but  were  not  baptized  till 
they  attained  maturity.  I  say  again,  this  could  not  have 
taken  place  if  infant  baptism  had  been  from  .he  beginning 
>  History  of  the  Church,  ii.  319.  "^  Ecclesiastical  History,  ii.  47. 


46  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

regarded  as  an  apostolic  institution.     A  few  instances  may 
be  given. 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  archbishop  of  Constantinople 
who  died  in  the  year  3S9,  and  whose  father  was  bishop 
of  Nazianzen,  was  not  baptized  till  he  was  nearly  thirty 
years  old.  He  expressly  intimated  his  disapproval  of  in- 
fant baptism,  in  one  of  his  public  discourses,  and  advised 
that  children  should  not  be  baptized  till  they  were  three 
years  old  or  more,  at  which  time  they  might  be  able  to 
answer  the  questions  proposed  to  candidates.^ 

Chrysostom,  the  golden-mouthed  preacher,  also  arch 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  and  born  of  Christian  parents, 
received  baptism  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight.  He  died  in 
the  year  407. 

Basil  of  Cassarea,  though  he  could  boast  of  Christian 
ancestry  for  several  generations,  was  not  baptized  till  he 
was  twenty-seven  years  old.  Addressing  catechumens, 
he  says  (a.  d.  350),  "  Do  you  demur,  and  loiter,  and  put 
it  off,  when  you  have  hQQnyrojn  a  child  catechised  in  the 
word .''  Are  you  not  acquainted  with  the  truth  }  Having- 
been  always  leai'ni7tg  it,  are  you  not  yet  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  it?  A  seeker  all  your  life  long,  a  considerer  till 
you  are  old.''  When  will  you  become  one  of  us.?" 
Obser\^e — "^r<?/;z  a  child  catechised" — but  baptism  still 
delayed.^ 

Ephrem  of  Edessa,  a  learned  writer  of  the  Syriac 
Church  (died  A.  d.  37S),  was  born  of  parents  who,  as 
Alban  Butler  remarks,  "  were  ennobled  by  the  blood  of 
martyrs  in  their  family,  and  had  themselves  both  con- 

1  Ullman's  Gregory  of  Nazianzen,  p.  27. 

2  "  Oratio  exhortatoria  ad  baptis.,"  quoted  in  Wall's  History  of  InfatU 
Baptism,  chap.  xii. 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  ^'J 

fessed  Christ  before  the  persecutors,  under  Diccletian  or 
his  successors.  They  consecrated  Ephrem  to  God  from 
his  cradle,  like  another  Samuel,  but  he  was  eighteen  years 
old  when  he  was  baptized."  ^  They  would  be  called  good 
Baptists  in  these  times.  They  "  consecrated"  their  child, 
that  is,  prayed  for  him,  and  trained  him  "  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord  ;"  but  they  did  not  think  of 
his  being  baptized  till  he  was  a  believer,  which  was  not 
till  he  was  "  eighteen  years  old."  Would  they  have  acted 
thus  if  infant  baptism  had  been  the  universal  and  binding 
practice  of  the  church  ? 

Speaking  of  the  Emperor  Constantine,  the  infidel  his- 
torian Gibbon  says,  "  The  example  and  reputation  of 
Constantine  seemed  to  countenance  the  delay  of  baptism. 
Future  tyrants  were  encouraged  to  believe,  that  the  inno- 
cent blood  which  they  might  shed  in  a  long  reign  would 
instantly  be  washed  away  in  the  waters  of  regeneration  ; 
and  the  abuse  of  religion  dangerously  undermined  the 
foundation  of  moral  virtue."  '  The  truth  of  the  last  ob- 
servation is  undeniable.  All  ecclesiastical  history  illus- 
trates it.  And  there  is  no  inore  melancholy  confirmation 
than  that  which  is  afforded  by  the  records  of  baptism. 
T'-.e  figment  of  baptismal  regeneration,  one  of  the  earliest 
corruptions  of  Christianity,  was  an  outrage  on  morals 
and  religion.  It  encouraged  men  in  sin,  and  bolstered 
them  up  with  a  false  hope,  substituting  the  outward  form 
for  repentance,  faith,  and  a  changed  heart  and  life  In- 
fant baptism,  also,  soon  unfolded  its  injurious  tendencies 
and  eflects.  They  will  present  themselves  at  every  step 
of  our  future  progress.     It  seems  astonishing  that  so  gross 

1  Lives  of  the  Saints.     Art.  "  St.  Ephrem." 
'  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  xx. 


-jS  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

a  perversion  of  Christianity  should  have  acquired  such  a 
firm  hold  of  men's  minds.  But  it  is  among  the  things 
that  are  doomed,  and  the  day  is  not  far  off. 

With  the  sole  exception  of  the  clinics,  already  referred 
to,  baptism  still  consisted  in  the  immersion  of  the  candi- 
date, who  w^as  ordinarily  divested  of  clothing.  The  same 
method  was  adopted  for  children  as  for  adults.  And  the 
immersion  was  still  commonly  performed  thrice. 

The  following  passages  are  taken  from  Bingham's 
"Antiquities"  (book  xi.,  ch.  xi.)  : 

"  Cyril  of  Jerusalem"  (  died  A.  d.  386)  "  makes  it  an 
emblem  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  effusion  upon  the  apostles ; 
for  as  he  that  goes  down  into  the  water  and  is  baptized, 
is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  water,  so  the  apostles 
were  baptized  all  over  by  the  Spirit ;  the  water  surrounds 
the  body  externally,  but  the  Spirit  incomprehensibly  bap- 
tizes the  interior  soul.'' 

"So  St.  Ambrose"  (died  a.  d.  396)  "explains  it: 
'  Thou  wast  asked,  Dost  thou  believe  in  God  the  Father 
Almighty?  And  thou  didst  answer,  I  believe;  and  then 
thou  wast  immerged  in  water,  that  is,  buried.' " 

"  St.  Chrysostoui"  (died  A.  D.  407)  "  proves  the  resur- 
rection from  this  practice  :  '  For,'  says  he, '  our  being  bap- 
tized and  immerged  into  the  water,  and  our  rising  again 
out  of  it,  is  a  symbol  of  our  descending  into  hell  or  the 
grave,  and  of  our  returning  from  thence.' " 

"  St.  Jerome"  (died  A.  D.  410)  "  makes  this  ceremony 
to  be  a  symbol  of  the  Unity  as  well  as  the  Trinity.  'For,' 
says  he,  '  we  are  thrice  dipped  in  the  water,  that  the 
mystery  of  the  Trinity  may  appear  to  be  but  one  ;  we  are 
not  baptized  in  the  names  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  but  in  one  name,  which  is  God.' " 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  49 

"  St.  Augustine"  (died  A.  D.  430)  "  tells  us  there  was  a 
twofold  mystery  signified  in  this  way  of  baptizing.  The 
trine  immersion  was  bijth  a  symbol  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
in  whose  name  we  are  baptized,  and  also  a  type  of  the 
Lord's  burial,  and  of  his  resurrection  on  the  third  day 
from  the  dead.  For  we  are  buried  with  Christ  by  bap- 
tism, and  rise  again  with  him  by  faith." 

Leo  the  Great  (died  A.  D.  461)  says,  "  The  trine  im- 
mersion is  an  imitation  of  the  three  days'  burial ;  and  thf; 
rising  again  out  of  the  water  is  an  image  of  Christ  rising 
from  the  grave." 

Gregory  the  Great  (died  A.  D.  604)  wrote  thus  to  Le- 
ander,  bishop  of  Seville :  "  Concerning  the  three  im- 
mersions in  baptism,^pu  have  judged  very  truly  already, 
tJKit  different  rites  and  customs  do  not  prejudice  the  holy 
church,  whilst  the  unity  of  faith  remains  entire.  The 
reason  why  we  use  three  immersions  at  Rome  is  to  signify 
the  mystery  of  Christ's  three  days'  burial,  that  whilst  an 
infant  is  thrice  lifted  up  out  of  the  water  the  resurrection 
on  the  third  day  may  be  expressed  thereby.  But  if  any 
one  thinks  this  is  rather  done  in  regard  to  the  Holy 
Trinity,  a  single  immersion  in  baptism  does  no  way  prej- 
udice that ;  for  so  long  as  the  unity  of  substance  is  pre- 
served in  three  persons,  it  is  no  harm  whether  a  child  be 
baptized  with  one  immersion  or  three ;  because  three  im- 
mersions may  represent  the  Trinity  of  Persons,  and  one 
immersion  the  Unity  of  the  Godhead." 

At  first,  baptism  was  administered  in  rivers,  pools, 
baths,  wherever  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  could  be 
conveniently  obtained.  In  the  fourth  century,  baptisteries 
began  to  be  erected.  These  were  large  buildings,  con- 
tiguous to  the  churches.  There  was  usually  but  one  in  a 
5 


50  BAPTIST  HISTORY, 

city,  attached  to  the  bishop's  or  cathedral  church.  The 
baptistery  proper,  or  font,  was  in  the  centre  of  the  build- 
ing, and  at  the  sides  were  numefous  apartments  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  candidates.  Several  of  these  bap- 
tisteries yet  remain,  and  have  been  frequently  described 
by  travelers.  The  baptisteries  at  Rome  (in  the  church 
of  St.  John  Lateran),  Ravenna,  Florence,  Pisa,  and  Parma 
may  be  particularly  mentioned.  The  fonts  in  these  bap 
tisteries  are  from  three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  of  propor- 
tionate size.     Of  course  they  were  intended  for  immersion. 


CHAPTER    II. 

vTinstian  Intoleiancc — Justinian's  Law,  enjoining  Infant  Baptism— The 
Novatfans — The  Donatists — Pelagianism. 

THE  period  now  under  consideration  was  marked  by 
one  "  transition"  which  can  never  be  sufficiently  de- 
plored. Hitherto,  Christians  had  endured  afflictions  for 
the  Lord's  sake,  and  had  willingly  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things  rather  than  renounce  the  faith.  But  a  change  had 
taken  place,  involving  a  temptation  which  proved  too 
powerful  for  many  of  them.  When  Constantine  the 
Great  declared  for  Christianity,  he  expected  to  stand  in 
the  same  position  toward  that  religion  as  he  had  before 
occupied  with  regard  to  Paganism.  The  emperors  were 
the  high  priests  of  Paganism,  and  the  civil  government 
had  from  time  immemorial  directed  and  controlled  the  re- 
ligion of  the  country.  Was  not  the  same  policy  to  be  ob- 
served ?  Had  Constantine  examined  the  New  Testament, 
the  question  would  have  been  soon  answered.  But  he 
was  very  imperfectly  acquainted  with  that  book  ;  and, 
besides,  the  exclusive  authority  of  God's  word  in  matters 
of  religion  had  been  long  given  up.  The  profession  of 
Christianity  in  those  times  was  a  very  different  thing  from 
what  it  had  been  in  the  first  and  purest  ages.  Scripture 
was  smothered  by  tradition.     The  simplicity  of  apostolic 


52  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

form  had  given  place  to  complicated  ceremonies.  Expe- 
diency had  supplanted  right.  The  inquiry  was  not,  What 
has  Christ  commanded?  but  rather,  How  may  influence, 
and  power,  and  patronage,  and  wealth  be  obtained .''  How 
may  the  gospel  become  popular.?  Such  being  the  views 
of  the  leaders,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  people  grov- 
eled in  worldliness,  or  that  rulers  determined  to  use 
Christianity  as  a  State  machine,  as  they  had  used  Pagan- 
ism. Constantine  led  the  way,  and  his  successors  natur- 
ally trod  in  his  steps.  He  began  by  enjoining  external 
compliance  with  Christian  institutions.  The  observance 
of  the  Lord's  Day  was  enforced  by  imperial  law.  Inter- 
ference in  Christian  controversies  followed.  The  bishops 
were  too  ready  to  invoke  the  exercise  of  his  authority, 
and  there  was  not  religious  intelligence  enough  among 
the  people  to  discern  and  resist  the  usurpation.  The 
State  sej  up  the  idol,  uniformity,  and  they  bowed  down 
and  worshiped  it.  The  views  entertained  by  the  ma- 
jority were  called  "  Catholic,"  because  they  were  said  to  be 
held  by  all.  and  "Orthodox,"  because  they  were  assumed 
to  be  right.  Those  who  differed  from  the  majority  were 
termed  heretics.  The  words  "  orthodoxy"  and  "  heresy" 
were  not  always  employed,  however,  in  the  same  accepta- 
tions. As  each  man  deemed  himself  right  and  his  oppo- 
nent wrong,  every  man  was  orthodcx  in  his  own  eyes; 
and  as  successive  emperors  patronized  one  or  another 
form  of  belief,  he  who  was  orthodox  in  one  reign  was 
liable  to  be  stigmatized  as  a  heretic  in  the  next.  Patron- 
age, power,  and  persecution  are  closely  r.llied.  When 
imperial  intervention  was  called  for  to  settle  Christian 
disputes  or  to  suppress  a  rising  sect,  there  was  no  way  of 
exercising  it  but  by  means  of  penalties,  for  law  must  of 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  53 

necessity  be  powerless  unless  offences  against  it  are  pun- 
ished. Hence  arose  tlie  monstrous  anomaly  of  Christian 
persecution.  If  orthodoxy  was  in  the  ascendant,  the 
Catholic  emperor  pulled  down  Arian  churches,  and  fined 
the  people  for  attending  Arian  worship  ;  the  same  measure 
was  meted  out  to  other  sects.  If  an  Arian  sat  on  the 
throne,  the  Catholics  were  subject  to  the  same  indignities. 
It  was  unchristian  on  both  sides.  Pagans  and  Jews  were 
hardened  in  their  unbelief.  When  Christianity  was  forced 
into  an  alliance  with  the  State,  the  form — though  even  that 
was  disguised — remained,  but  the  spirit  had  departed. 

Were  I  writing  an  ecclesiastical  history,  I  should  en- 
large here.  I  should  expatiate  on  the  sin  of  legislation 
in  the  church,  whose  duty  it  is  to  obey  Christ's  laws,  not 
to  make  new  ones — on  the  pomp  and  pride  of  bishops — 
the  tyranny  of  kings — the  arrogance  of  councils — and 
especially  on  the  evils  which  have  resulted  from  the 
worldly  admixture  connected  with  the  introduction  ol 
infant  baptism.  But  just  now  I  must  confine  myself  to 
the  influence  of  the  State  on  religion,  and  particularly 
in  relation  to  the  subject  before  us. 

The  Emperor  Justinian,  who  reigned  from  a.d.  527  to 
A.  jj.  565,  was  a  thorough  despot.  He  would  acknow- 
ledge no  will  but  his  own.  The  rights  of  conscience 
were  altogether  ignored  by  him.  He  claimed  absolute 
mastery  over  his  subjects,  and  required  them  to  renounce 
Paganism  and  embrace  Christianity,  because  he  willed 
it,  without  reference  to  other  considerations.  A  notable 
edict  of  his  illustrates  these  remarks.  It  enacted,  "  that 
such  parents  as  were  yet  unbaptized  should  present  them- 
selves, with  their  wives  and  children,  and  all  that  apper- 
tained  to   them,  in   the   church  ;    and  there  they   should 

6  * 


54  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

cause  their  little  ones  immediately  to  be  baptized,  and  the 
rest  as  soon  as  they  were  taught  the  Scriptures  according 
to  the  canons.  But  if  any  persons,  for  the  sake  of  a  pub 
lie  office  or  dignity,  or  to  get  an  estate,  received  a  falla- 
cious baptism  themselves,  but  in  the  mean  time  left  their 
wives,  or  children,  or  servants,  or  any  that  w^ere  retain- 
ers or  near  relations  to  them,  in  their  ancient  error,  their 
goods  in  that  case  are  ordered  to  be  confiscated,  and  their 
persons  punished  by  a  competent  judge,  and  excluded 
from  bearing  any  office  in  the  commonwealth."  ^ 

Thus  the  fiibric  of  infant  baptism  rested  on  two  pillars 
— delusion  and  force  :  delusion,  inasmuch  as  the  cere- 
mony was  supposed  to  be  invested  with  regenerating  and 
saving  power — force,  as  employed  by  the  State,  in  the 
interest  of  the  Church.  It  is  true,  they  called  it  an 
"  apostolic  institution ;"  but  that  was  an  afterthought. 
Exorcism,  unction,  the  sign  of  the  cross,  holy  water,  in- 
fant communion,  and  many  other  childishnesses,  were 
also  called  "  apostolic  institutions" — not  at  first,  but  long 
after  they  were  invented,  to  conceal  their  real  origin,  and 
prevent  men  from  discovering  the  trickery. 

Unquestionably  the  progress  of  religion  in  the  com- 
munity, which  was  emphatically  designated  "  The 
Church,"  was  altogether  downward  during  the  "  Transi- 
tion Period."  It  is  an  interesting  inquiry.  How  far  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  was  preserved,  and  its  essential  truths 
maintained,  by  those  whom  ecclesiastical  historians  have 
denominated  "  heretics"  and  "  schismatic?."  I  shall 
pursue  this  inquiry  in  succeeding  chapters.  In  order  to 
find  the  true  church,  we  must  look  out  of  the  "  Church" 
commonly  so  called. 

'  Bingham,  book  xi.,  chap.  iv. 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  55 

The  Novatians  and  Donatists  were  the  two  leading 
sects  of  the  period  now  under  consideration.  There  were 
many  other  sects  so  called,  for  it  was  the  fashion  to  desig- 
nate as  a  "heretic"  every  individual  who  thought  differ- 
ently from  the  majority,  and  to  consider  those  who  agreed 
with  him  as  constituting  a  party,  usually  bearing  hif 
name.  If  we  were  to  do  so  now,  the  multiplication  ol 
sects  would  be  indefinite. 

Novatian  lived  at  Rome.  He  had  embraced  Chris 
tianity,  but  his  baptism  had  been  deferred,  and  it  has 
been  already  stated  that  in  a  sickness  which  threatened 
to  be  fatal  he  had  been  sprinkled  or  poured  on  as  he  lay 
on  his  bed,  since  it  was  impossible  to  immerse  him 
This  is  the  first  recorded  instance  of  cliitic  baptism.  It 
was  in  fact  no  baptism  at  all,  though  it  differed  from  \^- 
fant  sprinkling.  In  the  latter,  both  the  subject  and  the 
act  are  wrong.  In  Novatian's  case,  there  was  a  proper 
subject,  but  the  ceremony  performed  was  not  baptism, 
though  it  was  the  best  substitute  they  could  think  of.  It 
shows  us,  by  the  way,  how  error  was  creeping  in.  Nova- 
tian ought  to  have  waited  for  his  recovery,  when  he  would 
have  been  in  a  fit  state  to  receive  the  ordinance.  Had  it 
pleased  God  that  his  sickness  should  be  fatal,  he  would 
have  died  without  baptism,  and  he  would  have  been  in 
David's  position,  who  desired  to  build  the  temple,  but 
was  not  permitted.  The  desire  was  approved,  though 
tlie  purpose  was  not  accomplished.  He  "  did  well  that 
it  was  in  his  heart."  Already,  however,  the  pernicious 
notion  of  the  necessity  of  baptism  to  salvation  had  be- 
come prevalent,  and  consequently  Novatian  was  sprinkled 
or  received  a  pouring. 

Novatian  possessed  such  talent  and  zeal  that  he  became 


56  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

a  popular  teacher.  On  the  death  of  Fabian,  bishop  of 
Rome,  in  the  year  250,  there  was  a  strong  desire  that 
Novatian  should  succeed  him,  and  he  would  have  done 
so,  had  it  not  been  for  his  known  sentiments  on  one  point. 
Lax  habits  of  discipline,  as  he  believed,  had  grown  up, 
and  were  ver}  mischievous  in  their  tendencies.  In  the 
Decian  persecution  great  numbers  had  apostatized,  who 
on  the  return  of  tranquillity  sought  readmission  into  the 
churches.  Novatian  differed  from  his  brethren  on  this 
subject.  He  held  that  apostasy  was  a  sin  which  wholly 
disqualified  an  individual  for  restoration  to  Christian  fel- 
lowship, and  that  it  would  be  destructive  to  the  purity  of 
the  church  to  readmit  those  who  had  so  grossly  fallen. 
God  might  pardon  them.  They  might  find  a  place  in 
heaven.  But  the  church  must  not  be  defiled,  for  it  is  a 
congregation  of  saints.  Now,  whatever  opinion  we  may 
form  respecting  Novatian's  particular  theory,  it  is  unde- 
niable that  the  principle  on  which  it  rested  was  derived 
from  the  New  Testament.  Yet  it  was  too  spiritual  for 
the  times.  A  majority  declared  in  favor  of  Cornelius, 
who  was  duly  installed  bishop  of  Rome.  Nevertheless, 
the  minority  would  not  yield.  The  time  had  come — so 
they  argued — for  a  decided  stand.  The  holiness  of  the 
church  was  in  danger,  and  must  be  maintained  at  all 
hazards.  Separation  was  better  than  corruption.  They 
withdrew,  formed  a  separate  church,  and  invited  Nova- 
tian to  become  their  pastor.  Others  imitated  their  ex- 
ample in  various  parts  of  the  empire,  and  Novatian 
churches  sprang  up  in  great  abundance.  They  continued 
ni  existence  more  than  three  centuries.  In  all  the  prin- 
cipal towns  and  cities,  these  disseoting  communities 
might  be   found.     They  were   the   "Puritans"  of  those 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  57 

days,  and  were  so  designated.  There  was  a  wholesome 
livalry  for  some  Ume  between  them  and  the  "  Orthodox" 
or  "CathoHc"  body,  each  operating  as  a  stimuhis  and  a 
check  to  the  other. 

Carrying  out  their  governing  principle  in  all  its  details, 
they  bapti  zed  all  who  joined  their  churches,  even  though 
they  had  been  already  baptized  by  ministers  of  the  or- 
thodox body,  deeming  the  baptism  of  a  corrupt  church 
invalid.  They  were  therefore  the  first  "Anabaptists," 
in  the  strict  and  proper  sense  of  that  word.  They  were 
also  genuine  reformers.  Dr.  Waddington,  an  Episco 
palian  historian,  observes  that  Novatian  "  considered  the 
genuine  church  of  Christ  to  be  a  society  where  virtue 
and  innocence  reigned  universally,  and  refused  any  longer 
to  acknowledge  those  as  its  members  who  had  even  once 
degenerated  into  unrighteousness.  His  followers  were 
called  Cathari  or  Puritans,  and  they  compi-ehended 
many  austere  and  independent  Christians,  in  the  East  no 
less  than  in  the  West.  But  this  endeavor  to  revive  the 
spotless  moral  purity  of  the  Primitive  faith  was  found 
inconsistent  with  the  corruptions  even  of  that  early  age  : 
it  was  regarded  with  suspicion  by  the  leading  prelates,  as 
a  vain  and  visionary  scheme  ;  and  those  rigid  principles 
which  had  characterized  and  sanctified  the  church  in  the 
first  century  were  abandoned  to  the  profession  of  schis- 
matic sectaries  in  the  third."  ' 

There  is  no  evidence  that  at  the  time  of  Novatian's 
separation  from  the  Roman  Church  infant  baptism  had 
found  its  way  to  Italy.  The  probability  is  all  on  the 
other  side,  since  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  after  that 
event  we  find  Bonifixce,  bishop  of  Rome,  propounding 
1  History  of  the  Church,  i.  i66  (Second  Edition). 


58  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

doubts  and  questions  to  Augustine  which  indicated  that 
infant  baptism  was  looked  on  by  him  quite  distrustfully. 
Those  difficulties  would  not  have  existed  if  he  had  be- 
lieved that  the  rite  had  a  divine  origin.  The  incongruity 
between  the  ceremonial  employed  and  the  reality  struck 
him  forcibly.  The  ceremonial  had  been  originally  pre- 
pared for  catechumens,  and  was  then  a  reasonable  service. 
When  infants  were  substituted  for  catechumens,  the  same 
forms  were  observed,  but  they  were  strangely  out  of 
place.  In  answer  to  the  usual  question,  the  sponsor  re- 
plied on  behalf  of  the  infant,  "  I  believe,"  whereas,  as 
Boniface  remarked,  not  only  was  the  child  unable  to  be- 
lieve, but  no  one  could  tell  whether  he  would  believe  in 
after-life  or  not.  No  wonder  the  good  man  was  puzzled.* 
It  reminds  me  of  an  incident  that  occurred  in  England 
some  years  ago.  A  lad,  the  child  of  Baptist  parents,  was 
sent  to  a  school  where  the  Church  of  England  catechism 
was  taught.  Abraham — that  was  his  name — was  com- 
pelled to  stand  up  with  the  other  boys.  It  happened  one 
day  that  it  came  to  his  turn  to  answer  this  question  : 
"  Why  then  are  infants  baptized,  when  by  reason  of  their 
tender  age  they  cannot  perform  them  " — that  is,  the  con- 
ditions of  repentance  and  faith  ?  Abraham  looked  full  in 
his  master's  face,  and  said,  "Why,  indeed,  sir?"  He  was 
not  asked  to  recite  any  more.^ 

Novatianism  and  infant  baptism  were  diametrically  op- 
posed to  each  other.  It  was  impossible  to  preser\-e  the 
purity  for  which  the  Novatians  contended  in  any  church 

1  See  his  letter  in  Atigiistin.  Opera,  xxxix.  235-244,  (Ed.  Caillau). 

^  The  lad  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Austin,  many  years  pastor 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  meeting  in  Elim  Chapel,  Fetter  Lane,  London, 
who  died  in  1816.     See  Baptist  Magazine,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  397,  441. 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  59 

which  had  admitted  the  novel  institution.  Those  who 
had  been  baptized  in  infancy  might  evince,  when  they 
reached  maturity,  an  utter  destitution  of  vital  godliness, 
and  consequent  unfitness  for  union  with  a  Christian  body  ; 
but  being  already  members  by  virtue  of  their  baptism, 
they  could  not  be  expelled  unless  they  fell  into  gross  vice, 
and  so  their  influence  and  example  might  operate  most 
injuriously  on  the  religious  character  of  the  church.  This 
could  not  escape  the  observation  of  Novatian  Christians. 
It  would  prove  a  salutary  caution.  We  may  safely  infer 
that  they  abstained  from  compliance  with  the  innovation, 
and  that  the  Novatian  churches  were  what  are  now  called 
Baptist  churches,  adhering  to  the  apostolic  and  primitive 
practice.  Had  the  wi-itings  of  Novatian  authors  been 
preserved,  we  should  have  had  more  explicit  informa- 
tion ;  but  it  was  the  ancient  policy  to  destroy  all  books 
written  by  alleged  heretics.  Novatian  published  a  work 
on  the  Trinity,  which  has  not  been  involved  in  the  com- 
mon destruction.  A  copy  of  it  is  now  before  the  writer. 
It  is  generally  commended  for  its  clearness  and  ortho- 
doxy, but  there  is  no  allusion  to  the  baptismal  contro- 
versy. 

The  Donatists  first  appeared  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fourth  century.  A  dispute  about  an  election  to  a  bishopric 
was  the  occasion  of  their  separation  from  the  catholic 
church.  Caecil  an  was  chosen  bishop  of  Carthage  in  a 
somewhat  irregular  manner  and  hastily  ordained.  Among 
t'lose  who  officiated  at  his  ordination  was  Felix,  bishop 
of  Aptunga.  This  man  was  said  to  be  a  tradiior,  that  is, 
one  who  had  delivered  up  copies  of  the  Scriptures  to  the 
civil  authorities  during  the  Diocletian  persecution.     His 


6o  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

concurrence  in  the  ordination  was  thought  by  some  to 
vitiate  the  service.  They  refused  to  regard  Caecilian  as  a 
regularly-appointed  bishop,  A  secession  took  place, 
which  spread  rapidly  and  extensively,  so  that  in  a  short 
time  the  Donatist  churches  in  Africa  were  nearly  equal  in 
number  to  those  of  the  hitherto  dominant  party. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Novatians,  the  discussion  of  the 
general  question  of  church  purity  arose  out  of  the  cir- 
cumstances that  originated  the  division.  The  Donatists 
pleaded  for  purity.  They  maintained  that  Christian 
churches  should  consist  of  godly  persons  and  no  others, 
and  that  in  all  the  arrangements  made  for  their  manage- 
ment that  important  principle  should  be  kept  in  view. 
They  followed  the  example  of  the  Novatians  in  rebap- 
tizing  those  who  joined  them  from  other  churches.  They 
baptized  new  converts  on  a  profession  of  faith,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  for  that  was  the  practice  of  all  churches. 
Whether  they  went  farther  than  this  is  open  to  dispute. 
Their  principles  would  undoubtedly  lead  them  to  the  re- 
jection of  infant  baptism.  Some  authors  affirm  that  they 
did  reject  it.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  they  were  divided  in  opinion,  and  that  some  of  them 
admitted  infant  baptism,  though  the  admission  was  incon- 
sistent with  their  acknowledged  principles.  The  majority, 
I  am  willing  to  believe,  adhered  to  the  New  Testament 
practice. 

At  one  of  the  African  councils,  held  about  the  year  397, 
it  was  agreed  to  consult  their  "  brethren  and  fellow- 
])riests,"  Siricius,  bishop  of  Rome,  and  Simplician,  bishop 
of  Milan,  respecting  those  who  had  been  baptized  in  in- 
fancy among  the  Donatists,  and  who,  when  they  reached 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  6 1 

mature  age,  desired  to  join  the  church  which  assumed  the 
title  "  Catholic,"  *  It  was  subsequently  decided  that  they 
should  not  be  rebaptized.  This  proves  that  infant  bap- 
tism was  practiced  in  that  sect ;  whether  universally  or 
not,  is  another  question.  Augustine  never  charges  them, 
as  a  body,  with  heresy  on  that  point ;  nor  does  Optatus,  a 
celebrated  writer  against  the  Donatists. 

There  is  another  circumstance  proper  to  be  mentioned. 
The  diflerence  between  the  Donatists  and  their  opponents 
had  been  submitted  several  times  to  imperial  decision. 
In  the  first  instance  the  Donatists,  it  appears,  consented 
to  the  reference  ;  but  they  soon  discovered  the  impro- 
priety. "What  has  the  emperor  to  do  with  the  church? 
What  have  Christians  to  do  with  kings,  or  bishops  at 
court?"  they  asked.  Were  they  not  right?  Have  not 
the  Baptists  been  distinguished  in  all  ages  by  the  main- 
tenance of  these  views?  Have  they  not  ever  held  that 
civil  government  has  nothing  to  do  with  religion,  that 
Christianity  asks  for  no  support  from  the  State,  and  that 
the  union  of  Church  and  State  has  been  productive  of 
some  of  the  worst  evils  that  have  defiled  the  Christian 
profession?  Have  they  not  always  repudiated  the  use 
of  carnal  weapons  in  the  defence  and  propagation  of  the 
truth,  and  demanded,  for  themselves  and  for  all  men, 
entire  freedom  of  thought  and  action  in  all  religious  con- 
cerns? This  is  their  glory,  and  no  man  can  take  it  from 
them. 

Both  the  Novatians  and  the  Donatists  suffered  severely 
for  their  dissent — especially  the  latter.     The  celebrated 

1  Labbe  and  Cossart,  ii.  1071.     Bingham's  Antiquities,  book  iv.,  chap, 
iii.,  sect  12. 
6 


62  BAPTIST  HISTORT 

Augustine  taught. the  unchristian  doctrine  that  heresy 
should  be  suppressed  by  the  civil  magistrate,  and  in- 
voked the  imperial  sword  against  the  Donatists.  Their 
property  was  confiscated,  the  prisons  were  crammed 
with  them,  and  great  numbers  lost  their  lives  by  the 
hands  of  the  executioner.  A  sanguinary  law  was  en- 
acted, that  the  rebaptizer  and  the  ^-ebaptized  should  be 
put  to  death.  That  so  atrocious  an  enactment  should 
excite  tumults  in  a  country  where  the  separatists  consti- 
tuted one  half  of  the  Christian  population  cannot  be 
considered  surprising.  Other  persons,  not  connected 
with  them,  took  advantage  of  it,  and  great  disorders 
ensued.  But  Augustine  and  his  party  were  the  aggres- 
sors. 

Pelagianism  ti'oubled  the  church  in  the  fifth  century. 
As  Pelagius  taught  that  infants  derive  no  moral  taint 
from  Adam's  transgression,  it  has  been  inferred  that  he 
was  of  necessity  an  opposer  of  infant  baptism,  since  it 
had  then  become  a  generally  admitted  notion  that  bap- 
tism cleanses  from  original  sin.  Pelagius,  however, 
did  not  deny  the  propriety  of  baptizing  infants,  who 
obtained,  he  said,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  their  bap- 
tism, which  "  kingdom  of  heaven"  he  distinguished 
from  eternal  life,  and  represented  as  a  kind  of  inter- 
mediate state.  I  need  not  dwell  on  such  follies,  and 
therefore  pass  on  to  observe,  that  as  many  in  that  age 
stoutly  denied  the  right  of  infants  to  baptism,  refusing  to 
acknowledge  the  power  of  the  church  to  add  to  the  or- 
dinances of  Christ,  the  council  of  Milevi,  held  A.  d.  416, 
passed  a  decree  in  the  following  terms:  "Whosoever 
denies  tfiat  newly-born  infants  are  to  be  baptized,  or  af- 


THE    TRANSITION  PERIOD.  6t, 

firms  that  they  are  indeed  baptized  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  but  that  they  derive  no  original  sin  from  Adam,  .  .  . 
let  him  be  accursed." '  Such  are  the  supports  of  infant 
baptism — the  frail  buttresses  of  the  building — Justmian's 
mandate  and  tliis  anathematizing  decree  of  Milevi.  But 
what  has  the  Saviour  said?  "Every  plant  which  my 
heavenly  Father  hath  not  planted  shall  be  rooted  up" 
(Matt.  XV.  13). 

Much  has  been  said  respecting  the  contest  of  Augus- 
tine, the  monk,  with  the  British  Christians  on  the  subject 
of  baptism.  It  has  been  supposed  that  infant  baptism 
was  then  unknown  in  England,  and  that  Augustine  en- 
deavored to  force  it  on  the  people  as  an  integral  part  of 
Romish  policy.  Neither  assertion  is  coirect.  There  is 
no  good  reason  to  suppose  that  infant  baptism,  which 
had  been  gaining  prevalence  all  over  Europe  by  the 
zealous  labors  and  powerful  influence  of  Augustine  of 
Hippo,  had  been  kept  out  of  England.  We  have  just 
seen  that  Pelagius,  who  was  a  Welshman,  did  not  op- 
pose it.  Augustine's  object  was  to  procure  uniformity 
of  ceremonies,  and  to  induce  the  Britons  to  adopt  the 
observances  grafted  by  the  Romish  Church  on  the  simple 
baptismal  service  of  the  New  Testament.  Nothing  was 
said  about  children.  Their  baptism  was,  no  doubt, 
gradually  introduced  into  England,  as  in  other  parts, 
and  ultimately  superseded,  as  it  did  elsewhere,  the  primi 
tive  ordinance.  At  any  rate,  we  find  traces  of  it  in 
Wales  in  the  sixth  century.*  Whether  compli  ince  was 
refused  by  any  parties,  and    in  what   numbers,  cannot 

1  Labbe  and  Cossart,  ii.  1538. 

2  See  the  Liber  Laiidavens is.     Llandovery,  1S40. 


64  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

now  be  ascertained.  Here,  as  in  many  other  respects, 
there  is  a  lack  of  information.  God's  witnesses  lay  hid 
for  ages.^ 

1  Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History  is  the  only  authority  for  the  account  of 
Augustine's  interview  with  the  British  clergy.  The  monk  required  of 
them,  among  other  things,  that  they  should  "administer  baptism,  by 
which  we  are  born  to  God,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  holy  Roman 
Apostolic  Church"  ( Dr.  Giles'  Translation).  The  word  used  by  Bede 
was  "  complcatis,"  and  his  meaning  was  that  they  should  render  the  ad- 
ministration complete  or  perfect,  by  the  addition  of  Romish  ceremonies. 
In  some  editions  of  Fabian's  Chronicle,  Augustine  is  represented  as 
saying,  "  that  ye  give  Christendom  to  children."  Fabian,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed, knew  of  no  baptism  but  that  of  infants,  and  translated,  or  rather 
paraphrased,  accordingly.     He  died  A.  D.  15 13. 


THE  OBSCURE  PERIOD 

6»  65 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

FROM  A.  D.  604  TO  A.  D.  IO73. 

609.  Commencement  of  Mohammedanism. 

625.  Rise  of  the  Monothelite  Controversy. 

632.  Death  of  Mohammed. 

650.  Rise  of  the  Paulicians. 

680.  Sixth  General  Council, at  Constantinople. 

735.  Death  of  Venerable  Bede. 

756.  Temporal  Power  assumed  by  the  Pope, 

787.  Seventh  General  Council, at  Nice. 

814,  Death  of  Charlemagne. 

831.  Transubstantiation  taught  by  Paschasius  Radbeil. 

840.  Death  of  Claude  of  Turin. 

870.  Eighth  General  Council,  at  Constantinople. 

970.  The  Paulicians  removed  to  Philippopolis,  in  Thrace. 

993.  First  instance  of  Papal  Canonization. 
1054.  Final  Separation  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churcheai 
1073.  Accession  of  Pope  Gregory  VII. 

66 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  Manichaeans — Cautions  to  the  Student — All  Opponents  of  Infant 
Baptism  not  Baptists — Account  of  the  Paulicians — Their  Views  of 
Baptism. 

SOME  may  wonder  I  have  as  yet  said  nothing  about 
the  Manichaeans,  a  sect  which  first  came  into  notice 
about  the  latter  part  of  the  third  century,  and  continued 
in  existence,  if  historians  are  to  be  believed,  a  thousand 
years  or  more.  They  were  charged  with  denying  infant 
baptism.  But  I  wish  it  to  be  understood,  that  I  consider 
those  only  as  Baptists,  in  the  New  Testament  sense  of 
that  term,  who  hold  baptism  as  an  ordinance  binding  on 
all  believers,  and  refuse  it  to  all  other  persons.  Now, 
Manichaeism  was  a  compound  of  Oriental  philosophy 
and  Christianity.  The  fanciful  and  wild  speculations  in 
which  Manes  indulged  were  as  ill-founded  in  reason  as  in 
Scripture,  and  justly  entitled  their  author  to  the  appella 
tion  "  fanatic."  He  incorporated  sundry  portions  of 
Christianity  into  his  incongruous  system,  and  therefore 
the  party  has  been  ranked  among  the  heretics,  though,  as 
I  think,  with  little  propriety.  The  heretics,  as  they  are 
called,  were  seceders  from  the  established,  or  Catholic 
Church.  Manes  originated  an  independent  body,  on  en- 
tirely original  principles,  and  ought  to  be  placed  on  the 


S8  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

same  list  as  Mohammed  and  other  founders  of  systems. 
It  is  said  that  he  admitted  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper 
among  tlie  services  enjoined  on  his  followers ;  but  the 
supper  was  celebrated  with  water  instead  of  wine,  and 
baptism  was  optional ;  those  only  who  wished  it  were 
bajotized  ;  those  who  did  not  desire  it  were  not  debarred 
from  membership  on  that  account,  and  infants  were  ex- 
cluded from  participation  in  the  I'ite.  After  these  ex- 
planations it  will  not  be  deemed  strange  that  I  have  re- 
frained from  classing  the  Manichaeans  with  the  revivers 
of  primitive  religion.  ^ 

We  are  now  entering  on  the  period  which  I  have  de- 
nominated "  obscure."  It  is  so  called  because  the  infor- 
mation is  generally  scanty,  and  sometimes  of  very  doubt- 
ful character.  I  may  begin  by  remarking  that  the  student 
of  ecclesiastical  history  must  beware  lest  he  be  led  astray 
by  the  misrepresentations  of  bigoted  historians.  Mani- 
chffiism  was  soon  looked  on  as  a  concentration  of  all  that 
was  outrageous  and  bad  in  religious  opinion,  and  it  be- 
came the  fashion  to  call  all  heretics  "  Manichaeans." 
Hence  many  excellent  men  have  been  so  stigmatized, 
whose  views  and  practices  accorded  with  the  word  of 
God.  It  is  necessary  to  repair  to  the  original  sources  of 
history,  and  even  then  to  scan  very  closely  the  statements 
handed  down  to  us,  that  they  may  be  disentangled,  as  far 
as  possible,  from  mistake  or  misrepresentation. 

Further :  it  is  not  safe  or  proper  to  report  all  oppo- 
nents of  infant  baptism  as  Baptists,  in  our  sense  of  the 

1  Manes  was  a  Persian.  He  was  put  to  death  by  order  of  Varanes  I., 
king  of  Persia,  in  the  year  278.  See  Beaus  i>bre's  Histoire  Critiqzie  de 
Manichie  et  du  Maittcheisme,  and  Mosheim's  De  Rebus  Christianis,  etc^ 
p.  728-903. 


THE   OBSCURE  PERIOD.  69 

word.  Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  there  were  many 
dissenters  from  the  catholic  faith,  as  it  was  called,  who 
rejected  baptism  altogether,  holding  sentiments  respecting 
that  ordinance  which  much  resemble  those  of  the  Qiiakeis 
in  these  times.  Possibly  they  were  driven  to  those  ex- 
treme views  by  contemplating  the  absurd  ceremonies 
connected  with  baptism,  and  the  superstitious  notions 
entertained  by  the  majority.  It  seemed  to  them  better  to 
liavc  no  baptism  at  all  than  to  countenance  such  follies. 
Doubtless  they  were  wrong,  although  much  might  be 
oflcred  in  excuse  for  them.  But  when  these  parties  are 
adduced  as  opponents  of  infant  baptism,  an  unfairness  is 
sometimes  committed.  Their  opposition  was  against  all 
baptism,  and  not  against  infant  baptism  only.  I  am  not 
disposed  to  regard  any  persons  as  primitive  Baptists  un- 
less they  practiced  the  baptism  of  believers ;  their  rejec- 
tion of  infant  baptism  will  not  warrant  the  imposition  of 
that  worthy  name  on  them.  Mr.  Orchard's  "  History  of 
Foreign  Baptists,"  and  other  works  of  a  similar  kind, 
have  now  and  then  fallen  into  this  error.  ^ 

At  the  same  time  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  is 

*  It  is  not  pleasant  to  be  compelled  to  make  any  statements  calculated 
to  throw  discredit  on  other  writers  ;  but  the  interests  of  truth  are  para- 
mount to  all  other  considerations,  and  Baptists  ought  to  be  especially 
careful  in  this  matter. 

Gibbon  writes  thus  :  "  In  the  practice,  or  at  least  in  the  theory,  of  the 
sacraments,  the  Paulicians  were  inclined  to  abolish  all  visible  objects  of 
worship,  and  the  words  of  the  gospel  were,  in  their  judgment,  the  bap- 
tism and  communion  of  the  faithful." — Declme  and  Fall,  chap.  liv. 

Jones,  referring  to  Gibbon  as  his  authority,  says :  "  The  sacraments 
of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  they  held  to  be  peculiar  to  'the  com- 
munion of  the  faithful,'  that  is,  ought  to  be  restricted  to  believers. ' 
Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical  History,  ii.  181.     It  will  be  observed  that  this 


7o  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

often  the  utmost  difficulty  in  forming  a  satisfactory  judg- 
ment in  regard  to  the  opinions  held  by  the  reformers  of 
the  Middle  Ages.     We  know  nothing  of  them  but  by  the 

is  not  by  any  means  a  correct  representation  of  Gibbon.  It  is  quoted 
by  Orchard  as  an  independent  testimony. 

Mr.  Orchard  {History  of  the  Baptists,  p.  130)  gives  the  following  as  a 
quotation  from  Mosheim  :  "  It  is  evident  they  [the  Paulicians]  rejected 
the  baptism  of  infants.  They  were  not  charged  with  any  error  concern- 
ing baptism."  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  first  part  of  this  alleged  quo- 
tation is  not  to  be  found  in  Mosheim.  The  second  part  is  a  mutilation. 
The  words  of  the  historian,  which  occur  in  a  note,  are  here  copied : 
"The  Greeks  do  not  charge  the  Paulicians  with  any  error  in  respect  to 
the  doctrine  of  baptism.  Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  construed  into 
allegory  what  the  New  Testament  states  concerning  this  ordinance. 
And  Photius  {Contra  Manich.  lib.  i.  p.  29)  expressly  says,  that  they  held 
only  to  a  fictitious  baptism,  and  understood  by  baptism,  «.  <?.,  by  the 
water  of  baptism — the  gospel." — Ecclesiastical  History,  cent.  ix.  part  2. 
chap.  V.  sect.  6. 

Mr.  Orchard  gives  also  the  following,  as  a  quotation  from  Dr.  Allix : 
"  They,  with  the  Manichgeans,  were  Anabaptists,  and  were  consequently 
often  reproached  with  that  term."  I  have  looked  in  vain  for  this  quo- 
tation. Dr.  Allix,  speaking  of  the  Manichees,  says  :  "  In  those  barbar- 
ous and  cruel  ages,  a  small  conformity  of  opinion  with  the  Manichees 
was  a  sufificient  ground  to  accuse  them  of  Manichjeism  who  opposed 
anj  doctrines  received  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  Thus  would  they 
have  taken  the  Anabaptists  for  downright  Manichees,  because  they  con- 
demned the  baptism  of  infants." — Remarks  upon  the  Ancient  Church  of 
Piedmont,  chap.  xv. 

Mr.  Orchard  says  (p.  300),  Ecbertus  Schonangiensis,  who  wrote  against 
this  people,  declares,  "  They  say  that  baptism  does  no  good  to  itifants  ; 
therefore,  such  as  come  over  to  their  sect  they  baptize  in  a  private  way, 
that  is,  without  the  pomp  and  public  parade  of  the  Catholics." — Wall's 
history,  part  2,  p.  228. 

This  seems  to  be  clear  and  explicit  testimony.  According  to  the 
statement,  as  here  presented,  the  Cathari  not  only  rejected  infant  bap- 
tism, but  also  baptized  adults,  "  in  a  private  "way." 

The  reader  will  be  astonished  to  learn  that  the  very  opposite  was  the 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  *J1 

reports  of  their  adversaries,  who  were  predisposed  against 
them,  and  who,  for  want  of  religious  sympath}^,  were  un- 
able to  appreciate  or  even  to  understand  their  peculiai 
views.  The  same  words  were  sometimes  used  by  oppos- 
ing parties  in  different  senses,  and  truths  were  seen  in 
different  aspects.  Hence  the  confusion  and  contradic- 
toriness  which  are  too  often  apparent. 

These  observations  apply  to  the  case  of  the  Paulicians. 
They  first  appeared  about  the  middle  of  the  seventh  cen- 
tury in  Armenia,  and  soon  spread  wonderfully,  till  they 
were  numbered  by  hundreds  of  thousands.  Their  ene- 
mies accused  them  of  Manichaeism,  which  accusation 
they  indignantly  repelled.  The  only  ancient  authorities 
whence  we  can  derive  a  knowledge  of  their  sentiments 
are  Photius  and  Petrus  Siculus,  who  wrote  against  them 
with  great  bitterness,  and  on  that  account  can  scarcely  be 

fact  These  people,  according  to  Eckbert,  as  very  fairly  quoted  by 
Wall,  rejected  baptism  altogether.  Here  is  the  entire  passage,  copied 
from  Wall.  He  is  speaking  of  Eckbert,  or,  as  he  calls  him,  Ecbertus 
Schonaugiensis : 

He  says,  Sermon  I. :  "They  are  also  divided  among  themselves  ;  for 
several  things  that  are  maintained  by  some  of  them  are  denied  by 
others."  And  of  baptism  particularly  he  says,  "  Of  baptism  they  speak 
variously ;  that  baptism  does  no  good  to  infants,  because  they  cannot  of 
themselves  desire  it,  and  because  they  cannot  profess  any  faith.  But 
there  is  another  thing  which  they  more  generally  hold  concerning  that 
point,  though  more  secretly — namely,  that  no  water  baptism  at  all  does 
any  good  for  salvation.  And  therefore  such  as  come  over  to  their  sect 
they  rebaptize  by  a  private  way,  which  they  call  baptism  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  with  fire."  This  was  the  " consolamentiitn.''''  It  is  described 
in  the  next  period. 

Mr.  Benedict  copies  Orchard,  and  thus  unwittingly  propagates  the 
mistake;  History  of  the  Baptists,  p.  67,  edit.  1848.  The  original  pas- 
sage, translated  by  Wall,  is  in  Biblioth.  Maxim.  Lugdun.  xxiii.  601. 


*J2  BAPTIST  HIS  TOUT. 

considered  as  worthy  of  entire  credence.  Photius  was 
archbishop  of  Constantinople,  and  died  a.d.  890  ;  Petrus 
Sicuhis,  a  learned  nobleman,  died  a  few  years  later.  He 
was  sent  by  the  Emperor  Basil  to  Tibrica,  a  Paulician 
town,  in  the  year  870,  to  negotiate  an  exchange  of  prison 
ers.  He  remained  there  seven  months,  and  availed  him- 
self of  the  opportunity  of  learning  the  opinions  and  prac- 
tices of  the  Paulicians,  both  by  disputing  with  them  and 
by  instituting  inquiries  among  the  Catholics  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. It  is  vmfortunate  that  there  is  no  better  au- 
thority to  consult,  for  Petrus  Siculus  was  so  bitterly  pre- 
judiced against  the  people  that  his  statements  cannot  be 
received  without  doubt  and  distrust.  The  only  safe  course 
is  to  endeavor  to  disentangle  facts  from  opinions,  insinu- 
ations, and  invectives,  and  thus  to  ascertain  the  truth. 
Yet  even  then  it  is  impossible  to  furnish  a  complete  pic- 
ture. Petrus  Siculus  deals  chiefly  in  negatives.  He  tells 
you  what  the  Paulicians  denied,  and  rails  at  them  for  pre- 
suming to  differ  from  the  Catholic  party,  but  he  leaves 
you  to  guess  what  they  really  believed  in  many  important 
particulars.  I  mention  these  things  that  the  reader  may 
perceive  the  difficulty  whicn  lies  in  the  way  of  an  im- 
partial narrator. 

About  the  year  653,  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Constans  II.,  a  young  man  named  Constantine  resident 
at  Mananalis,  in  Armenia,  rendered  hospitable  ittentions 
to  a  stranger  whom  misfortune  had  brought  under  his  roof. 
The  stranger  proved  to  be  a  deacon  of  a  Christian  church, 
and  he  had  in  his  possession  a  precious  treasure,  which 
Jie  gave  to  Constantine  on  his  departure,  in  return  for  the 
kindness  shown  him.  It  was  a  copy  of  the  Gospels  and 
of  the  Epistles  of  Paul.     Constantine  read,  believed,  and 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  73 

obeyed.  Manichaeism,  by  which  he  had  been  deluded, 
was  immediately  renounced.  His  Manichaean  books  were 
thrown  aside,  and  the  sacred  writings  were  exclusively 
studied.  Shortly  afterward  he  removed  to  Cibossa, 
where  he  lived  and  laboured  for  twenty-seven  years.  He 
was  a  diligent  and  successful  preacher.  Great  numbers 
received  the  truth.  In  what  manner  he  proceeded  to 
form  them  into  societies  or  churches,  and  how  they  were 
governed,  we  have  not  the  means  of  knowing.  We  may 
conjecture  and  infer,  but  inference  is  not  history.  If  the 
report  of  Fetrus  Siculus  be  correct,  they  lay  under  con- 
siderable disadvantage  in  not  having  the  book  of  the  Acts 
in  their  hands,  from  which  they  would  have  gathered  the 
practices  of  the  apostolic  churches,  and  perhaps  this  cir- 
cumstance exerted  an  unfavorable  influence  on  their 
arrangements.  But  we  must  not  affirm  positively  on  this 
subject. 

Constantine  died  the  death  of  a  martyr.  The  Emperor 
Constantine  Pogonatus  sent  Simeon,  one  of  his  officers,  to 
Cibossa,  with  a  military  detachment.  He  apprehended 
Constantine,  compelled  the  congregation  to  present  them- 
selves before  him,  and  ordered  them  to  stone  their  min- 
ister. They  stood  in  silence  for  a  while,  no  one  lifting 
up  his  hand  in  obedience  to  so  cruel  a  command.  At 
length  a  man  named  Justus  stepped  forward,  and  the 
murderous  deed  was  done.  Simeon  then  undertook  the 
work  of  conversion.  He  disputed  with  the  followers  of 
Constantine,  and  labored  hard  to  restore  them  to  the 
Catholic  Church.  But  he  labored  in  vain.  Not  only  so  ; 
the  arguments  used  on  the  other  side  were  too  powerful 
for  him.  He  yielded  to  the  force  of  truth,  and  returned 
to  Constantinople  a  Paulician  in  heart.  At  first  he  did 
7 


74  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

not  avow  the  change  that  had  taken  place,  but  at  length 
he  found  it  impossible  to  conceal  it,  and  consequently  he 
left  the  imperial  service,  retired  to  Cibossa,  joined  the 
persecuted  sect,  and  became  the  successor  of  the  very 
man  whom  he  had  murdered  by  the  hand  of  Justus. 
After  several  years  of  usefulness,  Justus,  who  had  pro 
fessed  repentance  and  had  been  restored  to  the  church, 
quarreled  with  him  and  betrayed  him  to  a  neighboring 
bishop,  by  whose  means  all  the  members  of  the  church 
then  resident  in  Cibossa  were  seized  and  burned  alive  in 
one  vast  pile.  Paulus  onl}'^  escaped.  He  fled  to  Epis- 
paris.  His  two  sons,  Genesius  and  Theodotus,  became 
Paulician  ministers.  Genesius  was  on  one  occasion  ap- 
prehended as  a  heretic  and  taken  to  Constantinople, 
where  he  underwent  an  examination  before  the  patriarch. 
It  is  thus  reported  by  Petrus  Siculus : 

Patriarch. — "  Why  hast  thou  derided  the  orthodox 
faith?" 

Genesius. — "  Anathema  to  him  who  denies  the  ortho' 
dox  faith" — meaning  thereby  his  own  heresy,  which  he 
boasted  of  as  the  true  "  orthodox  faith." 

Patriarch. — "  Wherefore  dost  thou  not  believe  in  and 
adore  the  venerable  cross?" 

Genesius. — "  Anathema  to  him  who  does  not  adore 
and  worship  the  venerable  and  life-giving  cross" — mean- 
ing Christ  himself,  whose  outstretched  arms  present  the 
figure  of  the  cross. 

Patriarch. — "  Why  dost  thou  not  worship  and  adore 
the  holy  n^other  of  God  ?" 

Genesius. — "  Anathema  to  him  who  does  not  adore  fhe 
most  holy  mother  of  God,  the  common  mother  of  us  all, 
I'nto  whom  our  Lord  Jesus  Chi'ist  entered" — meaning  the 


THE   OBSCURE  PERIOD.  75 

heavenly  Jerusalem,  into  which  Christ  has  entei-ed  as  our 
Forerunner. 

Patriarch. — "  Why  dost  thou  not  partake  of  the  im- 
maculate body  and  precious  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  dost  rather  despise  the  same  ?" 

Genesius. — "  Anathema  to  him  who  despises  tiie  body 
and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ" — meaning  thereby  the  words 
"  body  and  blood,"  and  nothing  more. 

"  In  like  manner,"  says  Petrus  Siculus,  "  he  spake  of 
baptism,  saying  that  Jesus  Christ  himself  is  baptism,  and 
that  there  is  no  other,  because  he  said,  '  I  am  the  living 
water.*  And  thus  perverting  everything  by  his  own  false 
interpretations,  he  was  acquitted  and  honorably  dis- 
missed." 

After  this,  Mananalis  was  again  the  headquarters  of 
the  Paulicians.  Genesius  lived  there  thirty  years,  and 
died  in  peace.  Various  troubles  and  disasters  followed. 
Joseph,  who-  seems  to  have  succeeded  Genesius,  with- 
drew to  Episparis,  and  afterward  to  Antioch,  in  Pisidia, 
where  he  labored  thirty  years.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Bahanes.  But  there  must  have  been  many  more  engaged 
in  the  work  beside  these,  for  the  imperfect  notices  that 
are  left  indicate  an  extensive  series  of  operations,  em- 
bracing a  large  number  of  churches  and  a  powerful  body 
of  adherents. 

About  the  year  810  the  Paulicians  were  joined  by  Ser- 
gius,  who  became  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  their 
community.  The  account  of  his  conversion  is  exceed- 
ingly interesting.  He  was  an  intelligent,  well-educated 
young  man,  and  much  esteemed  for  his  many  excellent 
qualities ;  but  he  was  profoundly  ignorant  of  religion. 
One  day  a  Christian  woman,  evidently  a  Paulician,  met 


7^  BAPTIST  HISTORY, 

with  him  and  entered  into  conversation.  "  Why,"  said 
she,  "  do  you  not  read  the  holy  Gospels?"  "Because," 
he  replied,  "  it  is  not  lawful  for  us  laymen,  but  only  for 
the  priests."  "You  are  altogether  mistaken,"  she  re- 
joined, "  for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God  ;  he 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved."  She  then  proceeded  to 
expose  the  priestly  tyranny  of  the  age  and  the  gross 
superstitions  by  which  the  people  were  deluded,  urging 
the  young  man  to  examine  the  matter  for  himself.  He 
did  so.  He  read,  and  thought,  and  prayed,  and  became 
a  Christian  "  in  deed  and  in  truth."  The  genuineness 
of  his  conversion  was  proved  by  his  eminently  holy  life 
and  incessant  zeal.  He  traversed  a  large  part  of  Wes- 
tern Asia,  preaching  everywhere,  and  calling  on  the  people 
to  abandon  the  follies  of  a  corrupted  Christianity,  and 
"  worship  God  in  the  spirit."  Thirty-four  years  were 
thus  spent,  and  marvelous  results  accompanied  his  efforts. 
Multitudes  were  converted.  So  general  was  the  defec- 
tion from  the  established  church,  that  the  Greek  emperor 
was  greatly  alarmed,  and  adopted  the  severest  measures 
for  the  suppression  of  the  reformation.  The  Paulicians 
had  endured  persecution  from  the  beginning,  and  had 
"  increased  and  multiplied"  under  it.  But  the  storm 
raged  with  such  terrific  fierceness  during  the  first  half  of 
the  ninth  century  that  utter  extermination  seemed  inevit- 
able. It  is  affirmed  that  under  the  auspices  of  the  Em- 
press Theodora,  who  held  the  regency  during  the  minority 
of  her  son  Michael,  from  A.  d.  832  to  A.  d.  846,  no  fewer 
than  one  hundred  thousand  Paulicians  were  put  to  death 
"  by  the  sword,  the  gibbet,  or  the  flames."  Sergius  was 
one  of  the  victims.  He  and  his  brethren  went  to  join 
those  of  whom  it  is  said  that  they  constantly  cry,  "  How 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  77 

Lng,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and 
avenge  our  blood  on  those  that  dwell  on  the  earth?" 
(  Rev.  vi.  lo). 

"  Oppression  maketh  a  wise  man  mad." 

Imperial  cruelty  at  length  provoked  retaliation  and  re- 
\enge.  The  Paulicians  took  up  arms  in  defence  of  their 
families  and  their  homes.  The  transition  from  self-defence 
to  active  rebellion  is  easy,  and  the  provinces  of  the  East 
were  convulsed  with  civil  war,  for  all  the  miseries  of 
which  the  persecutors  were  responsible.  It  continued 
many  years.  The  co-operation  of  the  Saracens  was  sought, 
and  many  provinces  of  the  empire  were  desolated.  But 
I  will  not  pursue  the  history  any  farther.  It  is  difficult 
to  trace  the  progress  of  religion  when  carnal  weapons 
have  been  taken  up.  I  will  only  observe  that  the  Paul- 
ician  revival  had  early  extended  to  Thrace,  now  the 
Turkish  pi-ovince  of  Roumelia  ;  and  in  the  tenth  century 
A  large  number  of  Paulicians  were  removed  to  Philip- 
popolis  in  that  country,  and  also  to  Bulgaria,  the  adjoin- 
ing province  ;  and  that  in  the  following  age  they  be- 
gan to  migrate  into  Italy,  France,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe.^ 

When  Petrus  Siculus  sat  down  to  write  his  history,  he 
was  predetermined  to  blacken  the  Paulicians  to  the  ut- 
most. Consequently,  he  maintained  that  the}'^  were  Mani- 
chaeans,  notwithstanding  the  disclaimer  of  Constantine, 
their  founder ;  and  having  taken  that  position,  he  was  re- 

1  The  "  Historia"  of  Petrus  Siculus  is  printed  ir  the  sixteenth  vol- 
ume of  the  Biblioth.  Maxim.  LtigduTiens.     Gieseler  has  given  an  ab- 
stract of  the  statements  of  Photius    in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  iL 
209-212. 
7* 


78  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

solved  to  hold  it.  I  shall  not  think  it  wortli  while  to 
discuss  the  question.  There  may  have  been  some  among 
them  who  still  retained  a  regard  to  the  philosophic  specu- 
lations with  which  they  were  familiar  before  conveision, 
and  which  had  for  many  ages  proved  very  injurious  to 
spiritual  Christianity ;  and  that  unworthy  persons  some- 
times crept  in  among  them  may  be  readily  admitted. 
That  is  the  fate  of  all  parties.  But  here  was  their  dis- 
tinction :  they  withdrew  from  the  Greek  Church  because 
that  church  had  abandoned  the  high  ground  of  gospel 
truth  and  spiritual  worship.  They  asserted  the  i^ight  and 
duty  of  searching  the  Scriptures,  and  would  admit  no 
other  rule.  They  abhorred  saint-worship.  They  would 
not  adore  the  cross,  nor  bow  down  before  images.  They 
abjured  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  In  a  word,  they 
appear  to  have  been  Protestants  before  the  Reformation, 
and  even  before  those  who  have  been  commonly  reckoned 
as  its  precursors.  The  meagre  accounts  of  them  which 
remain,  tinged  as  they  are  with  obstinate  prejudice,  fail 
to  give  us  satisfaction.  Had  we  the  letters  of  Sergius, 
which  Petrus  Siculus  tells  us  his  followers  valued  highly, 
we  should  be  able  to  obtain  full  and  accurate  information. 
This,  however,  is  certain,  that  a  religious  movement 
springing  from  God's  word,  and  so  firmly  maintained 
against  opposition  that  two  hundred  years  after  its  rise 
the  astonishing  number  of  one  hundred  thousand  of  its 
adherents  were  cut  off  without  destroying  the  body,  must 
have  possessed  a  mighty  influence.  I  agree  with  Joseph 
Milner,  the  ecclesiastical  historian,  who  observes  that  in 
tills  case  we  have  "  one  of  those  extraordinary  effusions 
9f  ;tlie  Pivine  Spirit  by  which  the  knowledge  ot  Christ 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  79 

and  the  practice  of  godliness  is  kept  alive  in  the 
world."  ^ 

But  I  cannot  agree  with  that  writer  in  the  statement 
that  the  Paulicians  "  were  simply  scriptural  in  the  use  of 
the  sacraments."  Neander  says,  more  truly,  that  "  they 
combated  the  inclination  to  rely  on  the  magical  effects  of 
external  forms,  particularly  the  sacraments  :  indeed,  they 
went  so  far  on  this  side  as  wholly  to  reject  the  outward 
celebration  of  the  sacraments."  ^ 

On  the  question  of  baptism,  Photius  writes  to  this 
effect :  that  though  the  Paulicians  despise  "  saving  bap- 
tism," they  pretend  that  they  have  received  it,  inasmuch 
as  they  received  the  gospel,  wherein  Christ  declares  that 
he  is  the  "living  water;"*  and  he  adds,  that  they  are 
willing  that  the  priests  should  baptize  their  children,  not- 
withstanding their  disbelief  in  any  saving  benefit  accom- 
panying the  rite.  Admitting  the  correctness  of  this 
account,  the  Paulicians  rejected  water  baptism,  teaching 
that  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  which  is  spiritual  baptism, 
is  sufficient.  If  they  allowed  the  priests  to  baptize  their 
children,  as  Photius  states,  it  was  probably  to  save  them- 
selves from  annoyance,  perhaps  from  persecution  ;  and 
as,  in  their  opinion,  the  baptism  did  the  children  neither 
good  nor  harm,  it  was  looked  on  as  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence. I  do  not  justify  or  commend  them.  Whatever 
their  views  were,  the  priests  judged  that  they  had  saved 
the  children  by  baptizing  them,  and  there  should  not  have 
been  any  opportunity  given  for  cherishing  that  antichris- 
tian  notion.  Still,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  we  are  by 
no  means  certain  of  the  truth  of  the  statement,  as  the 

^  History  of  the  Church,  cent.  ix.  chap.  ii. 

» History  of  the  Church,  iii,  263.  *  Ibid.,  i.  9. 


So  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

writer  was  a  virulent  opposer  of  the  Paulicians,  and 
aimed  to  excite  hatred  against  them.  Tlie  same  remark 
will  apply  to  Petrus  Siculus,  who,  as  Gibbon  very  prop- 
erly says,  wrote  "  with  much  prejudice  and  passion." 

Some  maintain  that  the  Paulicians  did  not  i-eject  either 
baptism  or  the  Lord's  supper — which  also  they  are  said 
to  have  held  in  a  spiritual  sense  only — but  the  unauthor* 
ized  additions  that  had  been  made  to  the  ordinances,  and 
the  current  opinions  respecting  their  design  and  efficacy. 
In  other  words,  they  rejected  baptismal  regeneration  and 
transubstantiation.  The  progress  of  perversion,  it  is 
truly  affirmed,  had  brought  men  to  this  point,  that  bap- 
tism was  no  longer  regarded  as  a  profession  of  Christ, 
nor  the  Lord's  supper  as  a  memorial  of  his  love  ;  the 
former  was  held  to  be  the  instrument  of  regeneration, 
and  in  the  latter  there  was  said  to  be  an  actual  reception 
of  the  Saviour's  body  and  blood.  Whoever  refused  to 
acquiesce  in  these  representations  was  reproached  as  a 
denier  of  the  ordinances,  whereas  his  opposition  was  con- 
fined to  corruptions  and  abuses.  This  is  not  an  improb- 
able supposition,  but  we  have  not  the  means  of  verifying 
it,  for  want  of  historic  materials. 

It  is,  however,  to  be  considered,  that  the  Paulicians 
were  not  altogether  agreed  among  themselves.  There 
were  divisions  and  parties.  It  may  possibly  be  that 
Photius  and  Petrus  Siculus  designedly  referred  to  those 
of  them  whose  opinions  were,  in  their  judgment,  the  far- 
thest removed  from  catholic  verity,  and  that  while  some 
wandered  into  errors  and  excesses,  the  remainder  pur- 
sued a  scriptural  course.  Photius  himself  states  that 
some  of  them  observed  the  Lord's  supper,  though,  as  he 
affects  to  believe,  they  did  it  to  "  deceive  the  simple.'* 


THE   OBSCURE  PERIOD. 


8l 


This  indicates  the  existence  of  two  parties.  Those  who 
observed  one  ordina'nce  were  not  likely  to  neglect  the 
other.  I  am  therefore  not  indisposed  to  believe  that  there- 
were  among  the  Paulicians  many  who  preserved  the 
truths  and  worship  of  Christianity,  as  derived  from  th«' 
New  Testament. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Religious  Reform  in  Europe — The  Canons  of  Orleans — Arras — Beren* 
garius — Miscellaneous  Anecdotes. 

ALTHOUGH  ceilain  scattered  notices  in  historical 
writings  render  it  probable  that  during  the  "  Obscure 
Period''  religious  reformers  were  silently  working  their 
way  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  the  expressions  used  are 
so  general  and  vague  that  we  cannot  fully  gather  from 
them  the  opinions  supposed  to  be  held  by  the  said  re- 
formers. Whatever  their  various  sentiments  were,  we 
find  them  indiscriminately  libeled  as  "  Manich^ans," 
which  was  as  much  as  to  say  that  they  were  children  of 
the  devil,  and  should  be  left  to  their  fate.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  Italy  was  the  fountain-head  of  these  heresies. 
Powerful  and  cunning  as  the  popes  were,  they  could 
not  preserve  their  own  territories  from  the  spiritual  in- 
fection. 

Now  and  then  the  hidden  seed  sprouted  up  and  showed 
itself  above  ground.  An  instance  occurred  at  Orleans, 
in  France,  in  1022.  Ten  canons  of  the  church  were  dis- 
covered to  be  imbued  with  heretical  notions,  which  they 
were  said  to  have  received  from  Italy,  by  means  of  a  lady 
of  that  land.  The  discoveries  excited  great  horror. 
Forthwith  the  king  and  queen,  attended  by  a  large  retinue 
82 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  83 

of  prelates,  hastened  to  the  spot  to  make  inquisition, 
One  Arefastus,  who  had  pretended  to  be  an  inquirer  into 
the  new  opinions,  and  by  that  means  had  won  the  confi- 
dence of  the  leaders,  became  a  witness  against  them. 
They  were  charged,  among  other  things,  with  holding 
that  there  is  no  ivasJiing  aivay  of  sins  in  baptism^  that 
in  the  Lord's  supper  the  bread  and  wine  are  not  changed 
into  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Saviour,  and  that  it  is  un- 
lawful to  pray  to  the  saints.  These  were  unpardonable 
sins.  The  accused  were  men  of  learning  and  piety,  whose 
unimpeachable  characters  and  holy  lives  were  well  known, 
and  by  whose  benevolence  many  poor  were  daily  relieved  ; 
but  they  did  not  believe  in  baptismal  regeneration,  tran- 
substantiation,  and  saint-worship,  and  therefore  they  must 
be  burned  alive  ;  and  burned  they  were  on  the  very  day 
of  their  trial.  First,  however,  they  were  solemnly  de- 
graded from  the  priestly  office,  the  queen  standing  guard 
at  the  church  door  while  the  ceremony  of  degradation 
was  performed,  lest  the  populace  should  push  in  and  an- 
ticipate the  execution  by  murdering  them.  Her  majesty 
gave  a  striking  manifestation  of  her  zeal  for  orthodoxy, 
immediately  afterward,  by  knocking  out  the  eye  of  one 
of  the  suflferers,  who  had  been  her  own  confessor,  and 
against  whom,  therefore,  she  was  especially  enraged. 
They  were  then  taken  outside  the  city  walls  and  com- 
mitted to  the  flames.  One  author  states  that  three  or  four 
other  persons,  who  had  embraced  the  same  opinions,  and 
were  of  very  respectable  standing  in  society,  suffered  with 
them.^ 

Three  years  afterward  another  band  of  heretics  made 
their  appearance  at  Arras  in  Flanders.     They  were  ap 
1  Labbe  and  Cossart,  ix.  836-842. 


84  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

prehended  and  brought  before  a  council  convened  on  the 
occasion,  when  they  gave  this  account  of  themselves : 

"  Our  law  and  discipline,"  said  they,  "which  we  have 
received  from  the  Master,  will  not  appear  to  be  contrary 
to  gospel  decrees  and  apostolic  sanctions,  if  any  one  will 
diligently  consider  the  same.  For  it  is  this  :  to  relinquish 
the  world,  to  restrain  the  flesh  from  concupiscence,  to 
provide  for  our  support  by  the  labor  of  our  own  hands, 
to  seek  the  hurt  of  none,  to  show  charity  to  all.  This 
righteousness  being  preserved,  there  is  no  need  of  bap- 
tism ;  if  this  be  turned  from,  baptism  cannot  save.  This 
is  the  sum  of  our  justification,  to  which  the  use  of  bap- 
tism can  add  nothing,  for  it  comprises  the  entire  purpose 
of  all  apostolic  and  evangelical  instruction.  But  if  any 
say  that  some  sacrament  lies  hid  in  baptism,  the  force  of 
that  is  taken  away  by  these  three  considerations :  First, 
the  reprobate  life  of  the  ministers  can  aflbrd  no  saving 
remedy  to  the  persons  to  be  baptized  ;  secondly,  what- 
ever sins  are  renounced  at  the  font  are  afterward  taken 
up  again  in  life  and  practice  ;  thirdly,  another's  will, 
another's  faith,  and  another's  confession  do  not  seem  to 
belong  to,  or  to  be  of  any  advantage  to,  a  little  child, 
who  neither  wills  nor  runs,  who  knows  nothing  of  faith, 
and  is  altogether  ignorant  of  his  own  good  and  salvation, 
and  from  whom  no  confession  of  faith  can  be  expected."* 

These  men,  up  to  a  certain  point,  were  scripturally 
orthodox.  They  saw  clearly  that  religious  service  must 
be  a  personal,  voluntary  act,  flowing  from  faith,  and  that 
therefore  infant  baptism  could  have  no  foundation  in  the 
word  of  God,  since  infants  were  unable  to  believe.  They 
rejected  it,  and  in  doing  so  they  rejected  baptism  alto- 
'  Act.  Synod.  Attrebatenses,  Gieseler,  ii.  496. 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  85 

gether,  for  at  that  time  infiint  baptism  was  the  baptism 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  See  here  an  ilhistration  of  our 
Lord's  statement  to  the  Jews,  "  Ye  have  made  the  word 
of  God  of  none  effect  by  your  traditions."  According  to 
the  tradition,  regeneration  and  grace  were  bestowed  in 
infant  baptism,  and  hence  that  ceremony,  being  generally 
adopted,  superseded  the  baptism  of  believers.  Hence, 
too,  the  effect  produced  on  inquiring  minds.  "  This  bap- 
tism," said  they — and  they  argued  conclusively  from  the 
premises — "  is  manifestly  a  vain  and  useless  thing.  It 
cannot  accomplish  the  promised  results.  It  never  did. 
If  we  are  already  pious,  baptism  is  needless;  if  we  ate 
not,  baptism  cannot  make  us  so."  Thus  a  Christian  or- 
dinance was  suppressed.  The  men  of  Arras  were  "  not 
far  from  the  kingdom  of  God,"  but  it  is  evident  that  they 
were  imperfect  Christians.  They  discerned  error,  but 
they  did  not  perceive  the  whole  truth,  for  the  error 
eclipsed  it.  This  was  the  position  of  a  large  number  of 
the  reformers  of  the  Middle  Ages.  They  held  Baptist 
principles  as  we  now  hold  them,  so  far  as  regarded  the 
rejection  of  infant  baptism.  Whether  they  practiced  the 
baptism  of  believers,  historians  do  not  say,  though  I  would 
not  build  an  argument  on  that  silence.  Those  of  them 
who  were  priests  of  the  Catholic  Church,  as  the  canons  of 
Orleans,  must  have  been  accustomed  to  administer  infant 
baptism.  How  they  reconciled  that  practice  with  their 
convictions,  I  know  not. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  decrees  of  councils  con- 
tain no  references  whatever  to  heretics  for  several  cen- 
turies previous  to  the  eleventh.  There  are  enactments  in 
abundance  touching  the  honors  and  privileges  of  the 
clergy,  anathemas  in  rich  profusion  against  breaches  ot 


86  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

■ecclesiastical  law,  and  threatenings  of  punishment  for 
gross  and  unnamable  violations  of  chastity.  But  heresy 
is  not  mentioned,  except  in  tvvo  or  three  individual  cases. 
It  is  clear  that  there  was  no  disturbing  movement.  The 
operations  of  the  Paulicians  were  confined  to  the  East  till 
neai'ly  the  close  of  the  "  Obscure  Period,"  when  they  en- 
tered Europe.  There  were  men  in  the  West  who  "  sighed 
and  cried  for  all  the  abominations  that  were  done,"  but 
they  mourned  in  secret,  and  they  were  not  numerous 
enough  to  attract  attention  or  excite  opposition. 

Certain  miscellaneous  matters  will  be  now  adverted  to 
in  conclusion. 

A.D.  692.  Ina,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  enacted  a 
law  by  which  it  was  enjoined  that  all  infants  should  be 
baptized  within  thirty  days  after  birth,  under  a  penalty 
of  thirty  shillings.  If  the  child  died  without  baptism 
the  father's  entire  estate  was  to  be  confiscated.^ 

A.D.  741.  Pope  Zachary,  writing  to  Boniface,  a  Ger- 
man bishop,  affirmed  that  immersion  in  the  name  of  the 
Trinity  was  essential  to  baptism,  but  that  the  moral  cha- 
racter of  the  administrator  was  not  essential.  The  pope's 
meaning  was,  that  a  bad  man  might  be  a  good  priest. 
Certainly  the  pope  was  a  poor  theologian. 

The  same  pope,  writing  to  the  same  bishop,  referred 
to  a  priest,  who,  being  ignorant  of  Latin,  the  only  lan- 
guage then  used  in  church  services,  in  trying  to  repeat 
the  form,  said,  "  Baptizo  te  in  nomine  Patria,  et  Filia., 
et  Spiritu  Sancta."  You  see  what  nonsense  he  made 
of  it.  Nevertheless,  said  the  pope,  as  the  priest  was  not 
heretical,  but  only  ignorant,  and  as  he  intended  to  bap- 
tize in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  though  he  blundered  over 
'  Labbe  and  Cossart,  vi.  1325. 


THE    OBSCURE  PERIOD.  87 

it,  there  was  no  need  to  rebaptize  the  child.  It  must  be 
considered  all  right. ' 

In  another  letter  the  same  pope  mentioned  one  Sam- 
son, a  Scotch  priest,  who  held  that  a  person  might  be 
made  "a  catholic  Christian"  by  the  imposition  of  the 
bishop's  hands  without  baptism,  and,  as  far  as  appears, 
without  repentance  or  faith.  Verily,  there  were  singular 
people  in  those  days  !  * 

A.D.  754.  Pope  Stephen  II.  declared  that  if  an  infant 
was  baptized  in  wine,  there  being  no  water  to  be  had, 
the  baptism  was  valid.  And  if,  the  infant  being  very 
sick,  the  baptism  was  performed  ivlth  water,  not  in  it, 
the  water  being  poured  from  a  shell  or  by  the  hand,  and 
the  proper  words  used,  that  baptism  was  valid.  The 
pope  might  have  spared  himself  the  trouble  of  giving 
these  decisions.     There  was  no  validity  in  either  case.* 

Immersion  was  the  ordinary  mode  of  celebrating  bap- 
tism during  all  this  period.  The  case  mentioned  above 
was  one  of  the  exceptions  that  were  sometimes  allowed 
when  children  were  supposed  to  be  in  danger  of  death. 
Yet  even  in  such  circumstances  the  Anglo-Saxon  priests 
were  warned  to  abide  by  the  ritual.  At  a  Synod  held  nt 
Calcuith,  England,  in  816,  it  was  ordained  that  the  priests 
should  not  pour  water  on  the  heads  of  the  infants,  but 
immerse  them,  according  to  the  example  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  was  thrice  immei'sed  (so  the  Synod  declared) 
in  the  water  of  Jordan.*  With  this  agrees  Dr.  Lingard's 
account.  He  states  that  "  the  regular  way  of  administer- 
ing it  was  by  immersion."  In  the  case  of  an  adult,  he 
"  descends  into  the  font,  the  priest  depressed  his  head 

1  Labbe  and  Cossart,  1505.  "^  Ibid.  p.  1520. 

3  Ibid.  p.  1652.  *  Ibid.  vii.  1489. 


58  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

three  times  below  the  sui-face,  saying,  '  I  baptize  thee, 
etc."  In  the  case  of  an  infant,  "  the  priest  himself  de- 
scends into  the  water,  which  reached  to  his  knees.  Each 
child  was  successively  delivered  undressed  into  his  hands, 
and  he  plunged  it  thrice  into  the  water."  ^ 

A.D.  787.  By  a  canon  of  the  Second  Council  of  Nice, 
all  persons  were  forbidden  to  conceal  heretical  books. 
Bishops,  priests,  or  deacons,  disobeying  the  canon,  were 
to  be  deposed  ;  monks  or  laymen,  excommunicated.'  No 
wonder  we  are  often  so  much  at  a  loss  respecting  the 
opinions  held  by  those  who  were  called  heretics,  many 
of  whom  were  not  properly  heretics,  but  genuine  religious 
reformers.  Their  books  were  carefully  gathered  and 
burned,  and  it  was  made  a  crime  to  conceal  them.  You 
may  write  it  thus  : 

"  Infallible  recipe  for  the  suppression  of  heresy. 
"  If  it  is  propagated  by  preaching,  silence  the  preacher ; 
if  he  will  preach,  put  him  out  of  the  way.    If  it  is  propa- 
gated by  writing,  burn  the  books  ;  should  the  author  still 
persist,  burn  hi7n  too.     Probaiujn  est." 

A.D.  797.  A  capitulary  of  Charlemagne  contains  the 
following  enactments : 

All  infants  must  be  baptized  within  a  year  of  their 
birth.  Penalties  for  neglect — a  nobleman  I30  shillings  ; 
a  gentleman  60  shillings ;  other  persons  30  shillings.* 
These  were  heavy  fines,  for  at  that  time  the  price  of  a 
good  sheep  was  a  shilling.  A  fine  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  sheep  for  neglecting  the  baptism  of  a  child !  Is 
it  not  monstrous  } 

*  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  CJmrch,  i.  317-320. 
2  Labbe  and  Cossart,  vii.  603.  ^  Labbe  and  Cossart,  1152. 


THE   REVIVAL  PERIOD 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 


FROM  A.  D.  1073  TO  A.  D.  1517. 

1077.  Submission  of  the  Emperor  Henry  IV.  to  the  Pope. 
1086.  Plenary  Indulgences  first  granted. 
1095.  Commencement  of  the  Crusades  to  the  Holy  Land. 
1099.  Jerusalem  taken  by  the  Crusaders. 

1 1 23.  Ninth  General  Council,  at  Rome.     Lateran  r. 

1 124.  Peter  of  Bruys  put  to  death. 

1 139.  Tenth  General  Council,  at  Rome.     Lateran  2. 

1 153.  Death  of  Bernard. 

1 1 55.  Arnold  of  Brescia  burned. 

1 1 70.  Murder  of  Becket,  December  29th. 

1 1 79.  Eleventh  General  Council,  at  Rome,     Lateran  3. 

H97.  Death  of  Peter  Waldo. 

1209.  Crusade  against  the  Albigenses. 

1215.  Twelfth  General  Council,  at  Rome.     Lateran  4. 

1216.  The  Dominican  Order  established. 
1223.  The  Franciscan  Order  established. 
1229.  Rise  of  the  Inquisition. 

1245.  Thirteenth  General  Council,  at  Lyons. 

1249.  University  of  Oxford  founded. 

1257.  University  of  Cambridge  founded. 

1274.  Fourteenth  General  Council,  Lyons  2. 

1300.  The  First  Jubilee. 

1308.  The  Papal  See  removed  to  Avignon. 

131 1.  Fifteenth  General  Council,  at  Vienne. 

1378.  Commencement  of  the  Great  Western  Schism. 

1384,  Death  of  John  de  Wycliffe,  December  31st. 

1409.  Sixteenth  General  Council,  at  Pisa. 

1414.  Seventeenth  General  Council,  at  Constance. 

1415.  Martyrdom  of  John  Huss,  July  6th. 

1416.  Martyrdom  of  Jerome  of  Prague,  May  30th. 

141 7.  Martyrdom  of  Sir  John  Oldcastle. 
1429.  End  of  the  Great  Western  Schism. 
143 1.  Eighteenth  General  Council,  at  Basle. 
1438.  Invention  of  Printing. 

1483.  Birth  of  Luther,  November  loth. 

1484.  Birth  of  Zuingli,  January  ist. 
1489.  Birth  of  Cranmer,  July  2d. 

1497.  Birth  of  Melanchthon,  February  16th. 

1498.  Savonarola  burnt  at  Florence. 
1505.  Birth  of  Knox. 

1516.  The  Greek  Testament  published  by  Erasmus. 

15 1 7.  Commencement  of  the  Reformation. 

90 


CHAPTER  I. 

State  of  Affairs  in  Europe  during  this  Period — The  Crusades— Other 
important  events — The  Scholastic  Divines  and  Philosophers — Univer- 
sities— Printing. 

I T  HAVE  termed  the  period  we  are  now  entering  on  the 
-L  "  Revival  Period,"  not  an  religious  grounds  only,  but 
also  because  throughout  the  whole  time  a  new  and  pow- 
erful impulse  was  acting  on  the  human  mind.  In  some 
sense  it  might  be  said  that  the  darkness  had  passed  away. 
That  expression,  however,  must  be  taken  in  a  very  modi- 
fied acceptation.  What  I  mean  is  this :  before  the  days 
of  Hildebrand  the  darkness  became  denser  and  denser ; 
but  after  those  days  light  gradually  forced  itself  in,  and 
the  commingling  led  to  fierce  conflicts.  The  Church  of 
Rome  continued  as  dark  as  ever ;  in  some  respects  and 
in  certain  districts,  it  was  an  infernal  blackness.  Never- 
theless, there  were  gleamings  here  and  there,  growing 
brighter  and  brighter,  and  tending  to  permanence  ;  so  that 
many  men  began  to  see  where  they  were,  which  was  a 
gieat  point  gained.  It  was  as  in  Egypt  of  old.  While 
the  masses  slumbered  amid  a  darkness  "which  might  be 
felt,"  there  was  a  goodly  number  of  God's  people  in  the 
land,  the  true  "  children  of  Israel,"  and  they  "  had  light 
in  their  dwellings." 


92  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Significant  and  momentous  events  characterized  the 
period.  All  Europe  was  in  a  ferment.  First  came  the 
struggles  between  the  popes  and  the  emperors,  in  which 
many  gallant  warriors  bit  the  dust,  and  flourishing  king- 
doms were  laid  waste.  Then  the  Crusades — the  veriest 
triumphs  of  ignorance,  folly,  superstition,  and  savageness 
that  the  world  had  ever  seen — which  more  than  deci- 
mated the  nobility  of  Europe,  exalted  crowns  at  the 
expense  of  coronets,  and  stuffed  the  maw  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  already  pretty  well  gorged  with  ill-gotten 
wealth.  And  yet  some  good  came  out  of  the  evil.  The 
tyrants  of  the  world,  whether  despots  or  republicans — 
France  has  furnished  types  of  both — "  do  not  think  so, 
or  mean  it  in  their  hearts ;"  but  the  "  King  of  kings"  is' 
on  his  throne,  "judging  right,"  and  they  work  out  his 
will,  unwittingly,  it  may  be,  yet  surely.  So  it  was  with  the 
Crusades.  At  first  the  popes  seemed  to  have  it  all  their 
own  way.  They  had  hit  upon  a  grand  expedient  to  lull 
the  European  population  to  sleep  in  the  arms  of  the 
church.  Those  who  went  to  the  holy  wars  traveled 
blindfold  as  priests  guided  them ;  and  those  who  re- 
mained at  home  handed  out  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious 
things  at  the  holy  father's  bidding.  Rome  drove  a  profit- 
ible  trade  in  those  days !  But  loss  was  at  hand.  The 
Crusac'es  aroused  and  expanded  men's  minds.  Commerce 
found  additional  avenues.  Municipal  institutions  were 
established.  The  learning  and  the  arts  of  the  East  be- 
came known.  Intercourse  with  foreign  nations  was  ex- 
tendovl.  Curiosity  was  awakened  and  inquiry  stimulated. 
The  literary  treasures  which  had  long  been  hidden  in 
Eastern  monasteries  were  brought  to  light  and  circulated, 
and  "  forgotten  tongues"  were  learned  again.     All  this 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  93 

was  adverse  to  antichristian  interests,  and  showed  how 
the  wise  were  once  more  "  taken  in  their  own  craftiness." 
I  am  referring  here  to  the  great  events  of  the  period  now 
before  us.  A  simple  enumeration  must  suffice.  Think 
of  Magna  Charta,  and  the  establishment  of  the  English 
House  of  Commons — the  invention  of  the  mariners'  com- 
pass, of  gunpowder,  of  linen  paper,  and  of  the  printing 
press — the  battles  of  Crecy,  Poictiers,  aid  Agii. court, 
with  their  consequences — the  great  Western  schism — the 
Council  of  Constance — the  Wars  of  the  Roses — the  dis- 
covery of  America  and  of  the  passage  to  the  East  Indies 
round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Were  they  not  times  of 
activity  and  progress  ? 

Do  not  suppose  that  this  has  no  connection  with  "  Bap- 
tist History."  It  has.  We  found  the  records  of  the  last 
period  scant  and  fragmentary.  Why  "i  The  world  was 
asleep — intellectually  and  morally  asleep.  Rome  had  ad- 
ministered an  opiate,  and  Europe  lay  slumbering  in  her 
lap.  It  is  not  surprising  that  under  such  circumstances 
it  is  difficult  to  spell  out  the  annals  of  thought  and  free- 
dom. Baptist  sentiments  can  hardly  be  understood,  much 
less  appreciated,  in  such  dozing  days  as  those.  They 
require  for  their  full  development  a  time  of  mental  stir. 
They  rejoice  in  those  collisions  which  produce  sparks 
and  flames,  and  thus  illuminate  the  nations.  They  have 
a  tendency  to  produce  them. 

Let  me  proceed,  then,  to  show  how  enlightenment  sprang 
up  and  brought  forth  fruit  in  the  "  Revival  Period." 

It  began  with  the  Scholastic  Philosophers  and  Divines. 
"  The  scholastic  theology,"  says  Mr.  Hallam,  "  was,  in 
its  general  principle,  an  alliance  between  faith  and  rea- 
son, an  endeavor  to  arrange  the  orthodox  system  of  the 


94  BAPTIST  HIST  OR  r. 

church,  such  as  authority  had  made  it,  according  to  the 
rules  and  methods  of  the  AristoteHan  dialectics,  and 
sometimes  upon  premises  supplied  by  metaphysical 
reasoning."  The  scholastic  philosophy,  according  to  the 
same  author,  "  seems  chiefly  to  be  distinguished  frooi  the 
theology  by  a  larger  infusion  of  metaphysical  reasoning, 
or  by  its  occasional  inquiries  into  subjects  not  imme- 
diately related  to  revealed  articles  of  faith."  ^  These 
philosophers  and  divines  are  often  described  as  learned 
ti'iflers,  who  wasted  their  time  and  their  energies  in  specu- 
lations, inquiries,  and  disputes  which  might  have  been  as 
well  or  better  let  alone ;  and  their  ponderous  folios, 
scarcely  ever  read,  but  mouldering  away  in  public  libra- 
ries, are  pointed  at  as  monuments  of  laborious  folly.  But 
this  is  a  partial,  perhaps  a  prejudiced,  verdict.  It  is  true 
that  these  men  did  perplex  their  brains  with  questions 
which  they  could  not  answer,  and  sometimes,  like  the 
angels  Milton  speaks  of,  "  found  no  end  in  wandering 
mazes  lost."  It  is  also  true  that  their  theological  investi- 
gations were  conducted  in  a  preposterous  manner,  since 
they  strove  to  reason  out  their  theology  by  the  aid  of  the 
Aristotelian  philosophy,  instead  of  deriving  it  from  the 
pure  fountain  of  Holy  Writ.  And  it  must  be  granted 
that  in  their  philosophical  disquisitions  they  generalized 
and  distinguished  in  a  very  dark  manner,  and  that  the 
student  of  their  works  is  constantly  thrown  into  inextric- 
able doubt  and  difficulty  by  their  twisted  reasonings,  the 
cloudy  verboseness  of  their  style,  and  the  barbarous,  un- 
intelligible epithets  they  were  in  the  habit  of  employing. 
Yet,  with  all  these  deductions,  it  cannct  be  denied  that 

•  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  ix.  part  ii.     See  also 
Bishop  Hampden's  Bampton  Lediires  on  "The  Scholastic  Philosophy." 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  95 

the  school-men  rendered  great  service  in  their  day. 
There  are  bright  gems  in  their  writings,  though  hidden 
beneath  much  rubbish.  If  one  sometimes  meets  with  the 
uncouth,  the  ridiculous,  or  the  hopelessly  obscure,  there 
are  also  vestiges  of  the  profound  and  glimpses  of  the 
sublime.  Their  powerful  intellects — for  some  of  them 
were  literary  giants — were  devoted,  for  the  most  part,  to 
the  upholding  of  Popery,  and  on  that  account  we  may 
not  be  sorry  for  the  oblivion  into  which  they  have  fallen. 
But  they  taught  men  to  think,  although  their  methods 
were  as  rude  as  were  the  mechanical  tools  of  the  times 
in  wj^'ch  they  lived  ;  and  the  process  of  learning  conse- 
quently slow.  Their  influence  gradually  extended,  till  at 
length  it  reached  those  who  were  more  desirous  of  ap- 
plying to  practice  the  knowledge  already  acquired  than 
of  striking  out  new  paths,  which  might,  after  all,  lead  into 
a  wilderness.  There  was  an  imperceptible  and  general 
sharpening  of  the  human  mind.  The  number  of  inde- 
pendent inquirers  continually  increased,  and  the  circle  of 
'nformation  was  widened.  Then  improved  methods  of 
mental  training  were  devised.  The  establishment  of  nu- 
merous schools  and  universities  was  the  result. 

The  following  is   a   list  of  the   principal   school-men, 
with  the  curious  and  whimsical  titles  given  them  : 

DIED  A.D. 

Peter  Lombard,  Master  of  Sentences 1 164 

Alexander  of  Hales,  Irrefragable  Doctor.^ 1245 

Thomas  Aquinas,  Angelic  Doctor 1274 

Bonaventura,    Seraphic    Doctor 1274 

Alan  of  Lille,  Universal  Doctor 1294 

Roger  Bacon,   Wonderful  Doctor 1 294 

Richard  Middleton,  Solid  and  Copious  Doctor 1304 

Duns    Scotus,   Subtle  Doctor. 1308 

William  Occam,  Singular  and  Invincible  Doctor 1347 


96  BAPTIST  HISTORY, 

DIED  A.ri. 
Archbishop  Bradwardine,  Profound  Doctor 1349 

John  Tauler,  Sublime  and  Enlightened  Doctor 1361 

Durand  of  St.  Pourcain,  Most  Resolute  Doctor 1383 

Peter  de  Alliaco,  the  Eagle  of  France,  and  the  Maul  of  Errorists. . ,  1425 

John   Gerson,  Most  Christian  Doctor 1429 

Universities  have  been  mentioned.  The  University  of 
Paris  vv^as  founded  a.d.  1206.  Eight  others  in  different 
parts  of  Europe,  including  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  w^ere 
founded  in  that  century.  The  next  century  was  the  age 
of  Dante,  Petrarch,  Boccaccio,  and  the  EngHsh  Wycliffe 
and  Chaucer;  sixteen  universities  were  founded  in  that 
century.  Between  the  commencement  of  the  fifteenth 
century  and  the  close  of  the  "  Revival  Period,"  twenty- 
nine  more  were  added  to  the  list.  Great  numbers  of 
students  attended  those  institutions.  Many  of  them  did 
not  learn  much,  and  in  all  cases  the  course  of  study  was 
very  limited.  But  assuredly  the  poet's  affirmation — "  A 
little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing" — is  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  oracle.  The  students  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  were  undoubtedly  inferior  to  those  of 
the  present  age  ;  but  was  it  not  better  to  get  "•  a  little 
learning"  than  to  remain  in  ignorance?  And  may  it  not 
be  fairly  inferred  that  the  imiversities  and  schools  of  the 
times  now  under  consideration — for  schools  also  increased 
and  extended  in  every  direction — exerted  a  highly  bene- 
ficial influence  on  society  at  large? 

Printing  was  invented  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century ;  and  the  study  of  classical  literature,  which  had 
been  revived  more  than  a  hundred  years  previously,  re- 
ceived a  powerful  impetus  after  the  fall  of  Constantinople, 
when  educated  Greeks  emigrated  into  Italy  and  France, 
and  the  love  of  learning  was  everywhere  diffused. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Paulicians  in  France  and  Italy — General  View  of  the  Reform  Move- 
ment— Various  Names  given  to  the  Reformers — Sentiments  held  by 
them— False  Charge  of  Manichasism — Their  Activity — Reinerus  Sac- 
cho's  Account. 

WE  have  glanced  at  the  Pauhcians — their  labors — 
their  sufferings — and  their  various  dispersions. 
Many  of  them  sought  a  home  in  Italy  and  France  about 
the  close  of  the  tenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh 
century.  There  they  met  with  congenial  spirits.  Right- 
minded  men  in  those  countries  had  protested  from  time  to 
time,  though  unavailingly,  against  Romish  encroachments. 
The  coming  of  the  Paulicians  inspired  them  with  fresh 
courage,  and  from  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  we 
read  of  a  succession  of  valorous  attacks  upon  those  errors, 
superstitions,  and  vices,  which  not  only  abounded  in  less 
enlightened  parts,  but  disgraced  even  the  metropolis  of 
Christendom. 

These  dissidents  formed  a  numerous  and  compact  body 
in  Italy,  where  the  Papal  yoke  chafed  the  necks  of  the 
people  and  made  them  restive.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
support  derived  from  the  imperial  power,  Italy  would 
have  been  Protestant  before  the  Reformation.  The  suc- 
cess of  Arnold  of  Brescia  was  an  impressive  warn'ng. 
9  97 


98  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

In  the  year  1 143  he  established  a  new  form  of  govern- 
ment in  Rome,  which  wrested  the  civil  power  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  popes,  and  compelled  them  to  content  them- 
selves with  the  management  of  ecclesiastical  affairs.  That 
the  attemjDt  was  ill-advised,  because  society  was  not  suffi- 
ciently prepared  for  it,  seems  evident ;  but  the  continuance 
of  the  new  order  of  things  for  eleven  years,  and  the 
alacrity  with  which  the  people  adopted  an  anti-Papal 
policy,  were  remarkable  signs  of  the  times. 

Peter  of  Bruys  began  his  career  as  a  reformer  in  the 
year  1104,  and  labored  twenty  years  in  the  good  work, 
chiefly  in  the  south  of  France.  He  was  followed  by 
Henry  of  Lausanne,  who  preached  the  word  of  God  with 
great  success  in  the  same  district. 

In  the  year  11 70,  Peter  Waldo,  a  merchant  of  Lyons, 
renounced  his  secular  engagements,  ajid  devoted  himself 
to  the  revival  of  religion.  He  procured  a  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  into  the  French  language,  and  spent 
his  life  in  toilsome  journeys  among  the  people,  during 
which  he  circulated  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  preached, 
and  by  other  methods  sought  to  promote  true  godliness. 
Being  joined  by  a  number  of  like-minded  men,  their 
united  efforts  produced  an  extensive  reformation.  The 
"  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,"  as  they  were  called,  because  they 
sacrificed  worldly  prospects  and  lived  in  poverty,  became 
i  numerous  and  formidable  body.  But  persecution  scat- 
,ered  them.  Waldo  himself  escaped  to  Bohemia,  and 
died  there.  Many  of  his  followers  settled  in  the  same 
country. 

Almost  everybody  has  heard  and  read  of  the  Waldenses. 
I  will  not  enter  into  any  account  of  the  disputes  respect- 
ing their  origin.     Some  trace  them  to  Peter  Waldo,  or 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  99 

some  other  person  of  a  similar  name.  Others  maintain 
that  their  name  is  derived  from  the  Latin  word  "  Vallis" 
whence  Va/lcnsis^  and  by  a  slight  corruption,  Valdcnsis^ 
in  the  plural,  Valdenses^  and  then,  Waldenscs.  The 
valleys  of  Piedmont,  and  other  Alpine  districts  secluded 
from  general  observation,  had  given  shelter  for  several 
ages  to  numbers  of  protesters  against  Romish  corruptions. 
There  they  studied  the  Scriptures,  cultivated  practical 
piety,  and  served  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
consciences.  There  is  no  doubt  that  they  sympathized 
heartily  with  the  religious  movements  which  were  going 
on  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  In  persecuting  times  their 
valleys  were  welcome  places  of  refuge. 

I  have  said  that  the  south  of  France  was  the  scene  of 
the  efforts  of  Peter  of  Bruys  and  Henry.  Other  reformers 
rose  up  in  the  same  district.  Toulouse  and  Albi  were  the 
towns  about  which  they  chiefly  clustered.  From  the  latter 
was  derived  the  term  "  Albigenses." 

Many  other  appellations  were  used  to  designate  the 
reforming  sects  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 
An  inquirer  is  apt  to  be  misled  by  them.  He  wonders  at 
their  divisions,  and  he  asks.  What  were  tl.e  diversities  of 
opinion  or  practice  by  which  they  were  distinguished 
from  one  another.?  But  he  asks  in  vain.  The  fact  is, 
that  the  numerous  names  and  descriptions  found  in  im- 
perial edicts  and  decrees  of  councils  refer  to  parties  who 
held  substantially  the  same  views.  The  occupations  in 
which  many  of  them  were  engaged,  the  places  where 
they  lived,  or  some  peculiarity  in  their  manners,  furnished 
the  distinctive  titles  which  appear  in  ecclesiastical  his- 
tories. Thus,  they  were  called  Cathari,,  or  pure,  because 
they  pleaded  for  personal  holiness  and  a  pure  church  ;  or 


lOO  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Hu7niliati^  because  of  their  modest  deportment.  The 
Arnaldistcevfexe  the  followers  of  Arnold  ;  the  Speronistce^ 
of  Speron.  The  Garatenses,  Albanenses.,  Sagnoroll^i 
Roncaroli^  and  Concorrezenses  were  inhabitants  of  the 
towns  from  which  those  appellations  were  derived.  To 
the  hizabatati  that  name  was  given  because  so  many  of 
them  belonged  to  the  lower  classes,  who  wore  sabots,  or 
wooden  shoes  ;  or,  as  others  suppose,  because  they  refused 
to  obsei-ve  saints'  days,  holding  that  the  Christian  Sabbath 
is  the  only  feast-day  of  the  church,  whence  they  were 
called  Inzabatati,  or  Sabbat7i-7nen.  Those  who  lived  in 
southern  France  were  often  called  Texe?-afits,  weavers,  a 
large  number  of  them  gaining  their  livelihood  by  that 
trade.  But  all  these  names,  and  many  more,  were  given 
to  persons  in  Italy,  France,  Germany,  Spain,  and  Flan- 
ders— for  they  were  found  in  all  those  countries — whose 
religious  views  and  practices  were  substantially  the  same. 
I  say  "  substantially,"  because  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  they  agreed  with  each  other  in  every  minute  partic- 
ular. The  freedom  which  they  claimed  in  separating 
from  the  Roman  Church  was  still  fartlier  indulged  among 
themselves.  They  would  "  call  no  man  master."  But 
the  diversities  of  opinion  which  might  prevail  among 
them  were  perfectly  consistent  with  unity  in  regard  to  the 
essential  truths  of  the  gospel. 

However  they  might  differ  from  one  another  on  matters 
of  small  moment,  they  were  "  of  one  heart  and  one  soul' 
in  opposing  the  abominations  of  the  Papacy. 

They  held  the  Pope  to  be  Antichrist,  and  they  regarded 
the  Church  of  Rome  as  the  mystical  "  Babylon"  spoken 
of  in  the  book  of  Revelation  ;  "  the  mother  of  harlots  and 
abominations  of  the  earth."  y  They  maintained  that  the 


THE    REVIVAL   PERIOD.  lOI 

t'lie  church  consisted  only  of  believers.  They  pleaded 
for  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  all  modern  lan- 
guages, that  men  might  read  "  in  their  own  tongues  the 
wonderful  works  of  God."  They  derided  the  ceremonies 
of  Roman  worship — the  holy  water,  the  incense,  the 
bowing  and  kneeling,  the  ringing  of  bells,  etc.,  etc.,  and 
taught  that  God  is  to  be  worshiped  with  "  pious  alTec- 
tions."  They  read  and  studied  the  divine  word  contin- 
ually, so  that  many  of  them  could  repeat  large  portions 
of  it  from  memory,  and  all  were  skillful  in  illustrating  and 
defending  their  sentiments  by  appropriate  quotations  from 
Holy  Writ.  They  denied  the  authority  of  bishops,  the 
validity  of  the  numerous  distinctions  of  rank  among  the 
clergy,  and  the  lawfulness  of  ecclesiastical  titles.  They 
denounced  tithes.  They  declaimed  against  donations  and 
legacies  to  churches  or  monasteries.  They  rejected  coun- 
cils. They  abhon-ed  image-worship  and  the  reverence 
paid  to  relics.  They  did  not  believe  in  transubstantiation. 
They  would  not  confess  to  the  priests,  saying  that  con- 
fession was  to  be  made  to  God  only.  They  laughed  at 
dedications,  consecrations,  exorcisms,  blessing  of  salt, 
spices,  and  candles,  and  other  superstitious  rites,  regard- 
ing them  as  fitter  themes  for  ridicule  than  reasoning. 
They  would  not  pray  to  any  saints.  They  held  purga- 
tory to  be  a  fable,  and  they  knew  that  it  was  a  profitable 
one  to  the  priesthood.  They  mocked  at  penances,  in- 
dulgences, and  all  such  trumpeiy.  In  a  word,  they  ac- 
knowledged no  authoi-ity  in  the  church  but  that  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  they  refused  to  obey  any  laws  re- 
lating to  religion  which  were  not  to  be  found  in  the  New 
Testament. 

The  ecclesiastical  historians  charge  many  of  them  with 


I02  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Manichaeism.  But  we  ought  to  be  careful  how  we  enter- 
tain that  charge.  The  evidence  on  which  it  is  founded  is 
derived  from  the  writings  of  their  enemies — their  own 
books  have  been  industriously  destroyed — or  from  state- 
ments made  by  renegades,  who  saw  tliat  the  more  mon- 
strous the  picture  which  they  drew  of  their  former  asso- 
cia'ies,  the  more  acceptable  would  it  be  to  the  priesthood. 
It  is  well  known  that  most  of  them  were  distinguished 
by  such  peculiarities  as  refusing  to  take  oaths  or  to  bear 
arms.  It  may  also  be  admitted  that  some  of  them  in- 
dulged in  foolish,  perhaps  injurious  speculations,  mainly 
derived  from  the  old  Gnostic  notions,  "  intruding  into 
things  which  they  had  not  seen."  But  the  errors  of  a 
few  ought  not  to  be  imputed  to  all ;  and  it  deserves  to  be 
considered,  that  when  the  church  had  substituted  trash 
for  truth  and  form  for  power,  there  was  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  get  to  the  farthest  possible  remove  from  her.  It 
might  be  innocently  enough  believed,  that  whatever  was 
denounced  and  opposed  by  Rome  was  therefore  worthy 
of  regard  ;  and  in  that  twilight  period  it  was  difficult  to 
see  all  things  clearly. 

Another  thought  or  two  may  be  added.  Even  if  it  be 
granted  that  Manichaean  speculations  prevailed  among 
some  of  these  sects,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  they 
were  understood  by  the  mass  of  their  adherents,  who 
were  unquestionably  incompetent  to  engage  in  contro- 
versies of  that  kind.  They  knew  something  of  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  ;  they  could  trust,  and  love,  and  obey ; 
and  they  could  exemplify  all  gospel  brotherly  kindness ; 
but  as  for  discussions  respecting  the  "  two  principles," 
the  nature  of  souls,  and  such  like  matters,  they  were  al- 
together out  of  their  reach.     Nor   is   it   to   be   imagined 


THE  REVIVAL    PERIOD.  1 03 

that  theii  teachers  enhirged  on  such  topics  in  their  public 
ministrations,  for  that  would  have  spoiled  their  usefulness. 
It  is  further  to  be  considered,  that  the  same  writers  who 
brought  forward  the  charge  of  Manichajanism  do  also 
accuse  the  Cathari  of  horrible  and  not-to-be-nientioned 
crimes,  which  were  said  to  be  perpetrated  by  them  in 
Iheir  religious  assemblies — ^just  as  the  heathen,  in  the  first 
ages  of  the  church,  propagated  similar  calumnies  against 
tiie  Christians.  Tlie  accusations  were  equally  baseless  in 
both  cases,  and  A'ere  met  by  indignant  denial.  But  if 
one  accusation  is  manifestly  outrageous  and  unfounded, 
may  not  the  other  be?  Are  we  not  entitled  to  the  infer- 
ence that  there  was,  at  the  least,  gross  exaggeration,  if 
not  malicious  libel.''  And  finally,  is  it  credible  that  those 
who  avowed  and  manifested  unlimited  deference  to  the 
word  of  God  were  led  astray  by  the  fantasies  of  the 
Manicha;an  theory  } 

My  readers  may  be  surprised  that  I  am  saying  nothing 
about  the  Baptists.  Let  them  be  patient.  I  am  working 
my  way  toward  them.  In  fiict,  many  of  those  of  whom 
I  have  just  been  writing  advocated  Baptist  sentiments, 
and  will  have  to  be  mentioned  again  before  the  account 
of  this  period  is  closed.  But  I  think  it  preferable  to  give 
first  a  general  outline  of  the  history  of  all  the  dissenting 
parties. 

The  old  writers  bitterly  complain  of  the  activity  of 
those  who  were  called  heretics.  They  could  not  under- 
stand it.  The  priests  celebrated  mass,  heard  confessions, 
attended  to  their  various  parochial  duties,  and  were  satis- 
fied. As  for  the  monks,  if  they  fasted,  meditated,  prayed 
punished  themselves,  or  said  they  did,  that  was  sufficient 
The  authors  I  am  speaking  of  had  no  sympathy  with  the 


104  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

yearnings  cf  Christian  compassion  for  souls,  and  thought 
such  efforts  as  the  sectarians  employed  exti^emely  irregu- 
lar and  troublesome.  Human  nature  is  the  same  every- 
where and  at  all  times.  "  They  do  exceedingly  trouble 
our  city,"  said  the  men  of  Philippi.  The  Jews  of  Thes- 
salonica  inflamed  the  mob  by  telling  them  that  the  men 
who  "  had  turned  the  world  upside  down"  had  come  to 
their  city.  Sleeping  sinners  wished  not  to  be  roused. 
False  teachers,  administering  opiates  to  souls,  look  upon 
truth-tellers  as  intruders  and  foes,  and  raise  the  hue  and 
cry  against  them. 

Our  Lord  and  his  apostles  experienced  such  treatment. 
The  faithful  in  succeeding  ages  shared  like  sufferings. 
But  they  quailed  not,  nor  did  they  desist.  They  delivered 
the  message  entrusted  to  them,  whether  men  would  hear 
or  whether  they  would  forbear. 

This  is  attested  by  all  the  records.  The  Cathari  in 
Germany,  Fi-ance,  and  Italy  in  the  early  part  of  the 
twelfth  century,  and  the  Lollards  of  England  in  the 
fifteenth,  were  equally  guilty  of  the  unpardonable  crime 
— in  Rome's  eyes — of  endeavoring  to  save  their  fellow- 
men  from  sin  and  hell,  by  directing  them  to  the  only 
Saviour.  They  saw  them  "  perishing  for  lack  of  know- 
ledge." They  saw  the  pretended  spiritual  father  giving 
his  children  a  stone  for  bread,  a  serpent  for  a  fish,  and  a 
scorpion  instead  of  an  g:^^.,  so  that  the  people  were  dying 
for  want  of  food.  God  had  given  thein  the  "■bread  from 
heaven,"  and  they  were  under  orders  to  distribute  it  to 
the  starving,  "without  money  and  without  price."  They 
spent  their  lives  in  obeying  the  command.  In  the  exer- 
cise of  their  pious  zeal  they  sometimes  exposed  them- 
Belves  to  great  dangers.     Reinerus  Saccho,  who  will  be 


THE  REVIVAL   PERIOD.  1 05 

mentioned  presently,  tells  of  one  of  the  Cathari  who 
swam  over  a  piece  of  water  in  the  depth  of  winter  for 
the  purpose  of  conveying  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  as  he 
understood  and  believed,  to  a  person  who  lived  on  the 
opposite  side. 

Their  zeal  was  guided  by  judgment.  Preaching  occu- 
pied the  first  place  in  their  esteem.  Whenever  they  could 
gain  the  public  ear  they  gathered  congregations  and  pro- 
claimed "  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God,"  striving 
to  convince  men  of  the  vanity  of  their  hopes,  and  to  lead 
the  sinner  from  self  and  the  creature  to  the  finished  work  of 
Jesus.  As  it  was  in  the  days  of  our  Lord  himself,  many 
thousands  of  the  "  common  people"  heard  them  gladly. 
Like  their  Master,  they  "  went  about  doing  good."  While 
some  itinerated  from  place  to  place,  preaching  as  they 
could  find  opportunity,  others  visited  houses  and  entered 
into  familiar  conversation  with  the  inmates.  To  do  this 
more  efiectually  they  carried  with  them  packs  of  merchan- 
dise, like  the  peddlers  of  these  times,  and  thus  frequently 
contrived,  during  the  disposal  of  their  wares,  to  excite  in 
the  minds  of  their  hearers  an  earnest  desire  to  obtain  that 
wisdom  which  is  "better  than  rubies."  Nor  was  this  all. 
They  established  schools  in  many  places,  in  which  re- 
ligious instruction  was  freely  given  ;  and  it  is  said  that 
not  unfrequently  they  sent  their  own  youths  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris,  where  they  received  the  best  education 
the  world  at  that  time  afforded,  and  returned  to  their 
friends  well  qualified  to  meet  Romish  disputants  and  fight 
them  with  their  own  weapons.  Another  method  adopted 
by  them  was  the  preparation  of  books.  Those  among 
them  who  were  able  composed  treatises,  which  were 
copied — for  printing  was  not  invented  till  the  middle  of 


Io6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

the  fifteenth  centuiy — and  circulated  as  widely  as  the 
means  they  possessed  would  allow.  Thus  great  good 
was  accomplished.  Several  of  their  books  have  been 
preserved.  Among  these  is  "  The  Noble  Lesson,"  a  pre- 
cious  Waldensian  treatise,  which  is  ascribed  to  the  twelfth 
century,  and  forcibly  exposes  the  follies  and  frauds  of 
Rome.  But  the  larger  portion  of  the  works  of  these 
early  reformers  have  been  destroyed.  Such  was  the 
policy  of  the  false  church,  to  stifle  thought,  prevent  dis- 
cussion, and  exact  blind,  uninquiring  obedience. 

Reinerus  Saccho  wi'ote  a  book  against  the  Waldenses, 
under  which  title  he  evidently  referred  to  the  several 
bodies  of  alleged  heretics  then  existing.  This  was  about 
the  year  1250.  He  said  that  he  had  belonged  to  the  Wal- 
denses about  seventeen  years,  but  had  rejoined  the  domi- 
nant church.  He  received  an  appointment  as  inquisitor, 
doubtless  because  his  knowledge  of  the  sentiments  and 
practices  of  his  former  associates  eminently  qualified 
him  for  that  hateful  office.  In  one  part  of  his  work  he 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
peddlers  introduced  religious  topics  among  the  families 
they  visited : 

"  The  heretics  employ  very  cunning  methods,  by  which 
to  insinuate  themselves  into  the  society  of  the  noble  and 
great.  They  do  it  in  this  way.  One  of  them  takes  with 
him  some  suitable  articles  of  merchandise,  such  as  rings 
or  dresses,  and  offers  them  for  sale.  When  they  have 
bought  what  they  choose,  and  ask  the  man  if  he  has  any- 
thing else  to  sell,  he  answers,  '  I  have  more  precious 
jewels  than  these  ;  I  would  give  them  to  you,  if  you 
would  promise  not  to  betray  me  to  the  clergy.'  The 
promise  being  given,  he   proceeds:  'I   have  a  gem   so 


THE   REVIVAL   PERIOD.  107 

brilliant,  that  a  man  may  know  God  by  it.  I  have  an 
other,  whose  glow  lights  up  the  love  of  God  in  the  heart 
of  him  who  possesses  it,'  and  so  forth,  speaking  of  the 
gems  figuratively.  Then  he  recites  some  chapter  of  the 
New  Testament,  such  as  the  first  of  Luke — '  In  the  sixth 
month  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God,'  etc.,  or  the 
Saviour's  discourse  in  the  thirteenth  of  John.  When  lie 
observes  that  his  hearers  are  beginning  to  be  pleased,  he 
quotes  a  passage  from  Matthew — '  The  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees sit  in  Moses'  seat,'  etc. — 'Woe  unto  you,  for  ye  shut 
up  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  etc.,  or  that  of  Mark — 'Woe 
unto  you,  for  ye  devour  widows'  houses,'  etc.  If  he  is 
asked  to  whom  those  threatenings  apply,  he  answers,  'To 
the  clergy  and  the  monks.' 

"  Then  he  compares  the  state  of  the  Roman  Church 
with  their  own,  saying,  '  The  teachers  of  the  Roman 
Church  are  proud  and  pompous ;  they  love  the  upper- 
most rooms  at  feasts,  and  to  be  called  of  men.  Rabbi, 
Rabbi ;  but  we  desire  no  such  rabbis.  As  for  them,  they 
are  incontinent ;  but  all  our  teachers  are  married,  and 
live  chastely  with  their  wives.  They  are  rich  and  covet- 
ous, as  it  is  said,  "  Woe  unto  you  that  are  rich,  for  ye  have 
received -your  consolation  ;"  but  we,  having  sufficient  food 
and  clothing  for  our  support,  are  therewith  content. 
They  themselves  fight,  and  they  excite  others  to  war,  and 
they  give  orders  to  kill  and  burn  Christ's  people,  to  whom 
it  was  said,  "  All  they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish 
with  the  sword  ;"  but  we  suffer  persecution  for  righteous- 
ness' sake.  They  eat  the  bread  of  idleness,  "working  not 
at  all ;"  but  we  work  with  our  own  hands.  They  pretend 
to  be  the  only  teachers,  as  it  is  said,  "  Woe  unto  you,  foi 
ye  have  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge,"  etc.  ;  but 


loS  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

among  us  the  women  as  well  as  the  men  teach,  and  he 
who  has  been  a  disciple  but  seven  days  can  instruct  an- 
other. Among  them  there  is  scarcely  a  teacher  to  be 
found  who  can  recite  three  successive  chapters  of  the 
New  Testament ;  but  almost  every  man  and  woman 
among  us  can  recite  the  whole  of  it ;  and  because  we 
hold  Christ's  true  faith,  and  teach  a  holy  life  and  doctrine, 
they  persecute  us  to  death,  as  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
persecuted  Christ, 

"  '  Moreover,  they  say  and  do  not,  and  they  bind  heavy 
burdens  on  men's  shoulders,  but  will  not  touch  them 
themselves  with  one  of  their  fingers ;  but  we  do  all  that 
we  teach.  They  compel  men  to  observe  human  tradition 
rather  than  God's  commands — such  as  fasts,  feasts,  and 
many  other  things,  which  are  human  institutes  ;  but  we 
teach  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  is  to  be 
kept,  and  that  only.' 

"  Having  talked  in  this  way,  the  heretic  adds — '  Con- 
sider, now,  which  is  the  better  state  and  the  better  faith, 
— ours,  or  that  of  the  Roman  Church — and  make  your 
choice.'  And  thus  many  a  one  is  turned  aside  from  the 
Catholic  faith,  takes  the  heretic  into  his  house,  conceals 
him  there  month  after  month,  and  is  confirmed  in  his  pei 
version."  ^ 

In  this  passage  Saccho  represents  the  Waldensian  as 
doing  all  in  his  power  to  inflame  the  hatred  of  the  people 
against  the  priesthood,  and  would  have  us  believe  that 
that  was  the  main  object  in  view.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
much  was  said  on  those  occasions  that  was  calculated  to 
induce  distrust  and  avoidance  of  the  Romish  clergy.  But 
the  pious  peddler  did  not  stop  there.  No  !  His  aim  was. 
1  Biblioth,  Maxima,  xxv,  273, 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  109 

to  guide  souls  to  Christ,  and  numbers  were  led  by  those 
conversational  sermons  to  renounce  fleshly  confidence  and 
seek  peace  through  the  blood  of  the  cross.  With  that 
necessary  addition  to  the  statement,  Saccho's  riarration 
may  be  taken  as  trustworthy.  It  is  pleasing  to  reflect 
that  many  of  our  Baptist  ancestors  were  so  honorably  anil 
usefully  employed.  The  same  spirit  animated  their  suc- 
cessors several  centuries  afterward.  Gretser,  the  Jesuit — 
he  died  A.  d.  1636 — who  edited  Saccho's  book,  placed 
this  note  in  the  margin  of  the  account  which  has  been 
now  quoted :  "  A  true  picture  of  the  heretics  of  our  age, 
especially  of  the  Anabaptists^ 


CHAPTER  III. 

Success  of  the  Reforming  Parties — Consternation  at  Rome — Anathe- 
mas— The  Dominican  and  Franciscan  Orders — Sanguinary  Persecu- 
tions— Crusade  against  the  Albigenses — TBe  Inquisition — Movement 
in  England — ^John  de  Wycliffe — The  Lollards — Bohemia. 

ALL  the  authorities  agree  in  testifying  to  the  astonish- 
ing success  of  the  Reformers  of  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries.  The  fact  was,  that  they  found  "  a 
people  prepared  for  the  Lord."  Disgusted  with  the  ab- 
surdities which  were  palmed  on  them  in  the  name  of 
religion,  and  shocked  at  the  frauds  and  crimes  which 
were  daily  perpetrated,  they  panted  for  something  better 
than  Rome  proffered.  The  gospel  of  Christ,  as  preached 
by  the  persecuted  sects,  satisfied  their  souls.  Great  num- 
bers of  them  believed  and  rejoiced  in  God.  And  the 
converts  lived  so  well  that  they  won  universal  respect. 
The  barons  of  Southern  France  encouraged  and  protected 
them.  It  was  to  their  interest  to  do  so,  for  they  were  an 
honest,  industrious  tenantry,  cheerfully  paying  rents  and 
taxes,  and  thus  contributing  materially  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  estates  on  which  they  were  located.  Peace, 
prosperity,  and  good  order  prevailed  wherever  their  com- 
munities were  established.  How  could  it  be  otherwise.'' 
They  were  all  brethren,  and  they  were  "  taught  of  God 
110 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  Ill 

to  love  one  another."  They  trained  their  children  in 
principles  of  truth  and  uprightness.  They  abjured  liti- 
gation and  violence.  Accounting  one  day  :  s  good  as  an- 
other, they  lost  no  time  by  observing  the  holidays  of  the 
church.  They  never  left  their  farms  and  merchandise 
to  wander  about  on  pilgrimages.  They  spent  no  money 
in  the  purchase  of  indulgences.  They  thought  it  wrong 
to  build  and  endow  monasteries.  In  short,  they  were 
quiet,  thrifty  people,  and  the  land  was  the  better  for 
them.  So  their  landlords  judged  and  felt,  and  they 
shielded  them  against  Papal  fury  at  the  hazard  of  their 
own  safety.  This  kindness  cost  some  of  them  dear ; 
they  were  involved  in  the  general  ruin  which  the  crusad- 
ing fiends  brought  upon  the  country. 

Rome  looked  on  and  trembled.  Her  subjects  were 
fast  leaving  her.  Her  dominion  was  crumbling  away. 
What  was  to  be  done  to  secure  the  remainder,  and  re- 
cover lost  ground  ? 

Cursing  was  first  thought  of,  because  it  was  easy,  and 
their  church  was  expert  at  it.  So  the  bishops  met  in 
council  year  after  year,  and  in  all  places  where  the  Re- 
formers appeared.  Right  heartily  did  they  curse  them. 
As  our  Lord  had  foretold,  they  "•  said  all  manner  of  evil 
against  them  falsely,"  huiled  plenty  of  anathemas  at 
their  heads,  and  called  upon  the  people  to  "  hate  them 
with  a  perfect  hatred."  A  long  list  of  those  councils  is 
before  me.  The  bishops  must  have  bixn  very  busy  in 
those  days.  A  large  portion  of  their  time  must  have  been 
spent  in  attending  the  meetings. 

A  more  reasonable  plan  was  next  invented.  The  re- 
forming sects  owed  much  of  their  success  to  preaching. 
Addressing  the  people  in  their  own   language,   and  in 


112  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

strains  of  rough  but  forcible  eloquence,  in  which  Scrip- 
ture phrases  were  largely  interwoven,  they  acquired  an 
influence  which  the  clergy  sought  in  vain  to  snatch  from 
them.  An  unpreaching  priesthood  was  powerless  in 
such  a  conflict.  Feeling  this  disadvantage,  ecclesiastical 
ingenuity  hit  upon  a  new  scheme.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  thirteenth  century  the  Dominican  and  Franciscan 
orders  were  founded.  In  their  establishment  special  re- 
gard was  had  to  the  great  necessity  of  the  times.  From 
among  the  monks  of  those  orders  men  were  chosen  whose 
talents  pointed  them  out  as  best  fitted  for  the  work,  and 
they  were  sent  out,  after  proper  training,  as  public 
preachers.  The  churches  being  open  to  them,  they  were 
placed  at  once  on  vantage-ground,  which  they  occupied 
with  much  zeal  and  skill.  They  cultivated  the  arts  of 
pleasing,  and  soon  learned  to  adapt  themselves  to  the 
popular  taste.  And  whereas  the  greedy  propensities  of 
the  resident  clergy  had  long  exposed  them  to  the  shafts 
of  ridicule  and  sarcasm,  the  new  orders  professed  abso- 
lute poverty,  receiving  alms  frorri  the  people  for  their 
daily  support,  and  abjuring  all  right  to  hold  property. 
That  self-denying  habit  did  not  last  long,  but  reputation 
had  been  secured  by  it,  and  the  Dominicans  and  Francis- 
cans stood  high  in  public  favor. 

We  must  not,  however,  look  for  uniform  and  unswerv- 
ing adhesion  to  peaceable  measures.  It  was  not  in  the 
nature  of  Rome  to  restrict  herself  in  this  matter.  She 
always  had  a  keen  scent  for  blood.  Persuasion  was  ve;y 
well  when  there  was  no  power  to  force  obedience  ;  but 
what  could  be  so  effective  as  the  dungeon,  the  sword,  and 
the  fii-e.?  All  the  various  modes  of  persecution  were 
brought  into  active  operation.     The  German  emperors, 


THE  REVIVAL   PERIOD.  1 13 

instigated  by  the  popes,  issued  sanguinary  edicts,  threat- 
ening the  severest  punishments  to  heretics  of  every  name. 
The  popes  themselves  acted  with  characteristic  ferocity, 
and  all  the  councils  breathed  the  same  spirit.  The  gen- 
eral council  held  at  Rome  in  the  year  11 79,  called  the 
third  of  Lateran,  led  the  way.  If  any  of  the  heretics 
held  public  offices,  they  were  to  be  turned  out  of  them 
as  soon  as  they  were  detected.  All  intercourse  with 
tliem  was  forbidden  ;  there  was  to  be  no  buying  or  sell- 
ing. Contracts  with  them  were  declared  null  and  void. 
Houses  in  which  they  were  found  were  to  be  destroyed  ; 
and  if  any  person  allowed  them  to  settle  on  his  lands, 
those  lands  were  to  be  confiscated.  Noblemen  were  com- 
manded not  to  offer  them  protection.  In  every  parish 
two  or  three  inhabitants  were  to  be  appointed  to  make 
diligent  and  constant  search  for  heretics,  and  to  denounce 
them,  whenever  found,  to  the  authorities.  No  advocate 
was  to  be  permitted  to  plead  for  them  when  they  were 
placed  on  trial.  On  conviction  they  were  to  be  deliv- 
ered over  to  the  secular  power  to  be  burned.  And  all 
magistrates  and  judges  were  warned  that  if  they  did  not 
faithfully  execute  these  decrees,  they  would  be  excom- 
municated.' 

Fearful  scenes  were  enacted.  The  human  blood- 
hounds were  at  work  in  all  directions.  "  This  year," 
says  one  of  the  writers  of  the  times,  speakirg  of  the  year 
1233,  "innumerable  heretics  were  burned  in  every  part 
of  Germany." 

Still  they  were  unsubdued.  Some  evaded  the  search 
<jnd  lived  in  concealment.  Some  withdrew  to  more 
friendly  lands.  In  Southern  France  the  barons  were  slow 
1  Labbe  and  Cossart,  x.  1503-1535. 


114  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

to  deprive  themselves  of  the  advantages  which  they  de- 
rived from  the  residence  of  industrious,  orderly  men  on 
their  estates,  and  the  exterminating  process  seemed  likely 
to  fall  into  abeyance. 

This  was  too  much  for  popes  to  bear.  All  the  bigotry 
and  brutality  by  which  the  holders  of  that  office  have 
ever  been  signalized,  appeared  to  be  concentrated  in  In- 
nocent III.  Enraged  at  the  failure  of  the  measures  hitli- 
erto  employed,  he  gave  commissions  to  extraordinary  le- 
gates, authorizing  them  to  require  the  co-operation  of  the 
civil  powers  in  hunting  down  and  extirpating  heretics. 
They  prosecuted  the  murderous  enterprise  with  unremit- 
ting ardor.  But  they  were  baffled  in  France.  Innocent 
then  proclaimed  a  crusade.  Full  pardon  of  sins  was 
promised  to  all  who  would  engage  in  the  unholy  war, 
with  whatever  plunder  they  might  obtain,  and  even  the 
territories  of  such  princes  and  nobles  as  should  resist.  A 
large  army  was  quickly  gathered.  The  narrative  of  their 
proceedings  occupies  some  of  the  darkest  pages  of  the 
world's  history.  I  have  not  space  for  the  horrid  details, 
and  must  therefore  refer  the  reader  to  the  ordinary  sources 
of  information.  When  they  read  the  narratives  which 
contemporary  historians  transmitted  to  posterity — how 
the  crusaders  attacked  town  after  town,  and  indiscrimin- 
ately butchered  the  inhabitants — how,  on  one  occasion, 
when  it  appeared  that  the  population  of  the  place  was 
partly  Roman  Catholic  and  partly  heretical,  the  monk 
who  controlled  the  movements  of  the  army  said,  "Kill  all ; 
God  knows  who  are  his  own" — how  terms  of  capitula- 
tion were  granted,  and  afterward  basely  violated — how, 
at  Carcassone,  fifty  were  hanged  and  four  hundred  burned 
— how,  at  Lavaur,  the  lady  of  the  castle  was  thrown  into 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  \\$ 

a  well,  and  stones  heaped  over  her,  and  "  the  numberless 
heretics  that  were  in  the  fortress  were  burned  alive  with 
great  joy" — how,  in  short,  the  whole  country  of  Languc- 
doc,  one  of  the  finest  portions  of  France,  was  reduced  to 
a  desert,  tens  of  thousandb  of  its  inhabitants  slaughtered, 
and  all  property  destroyed ; — I  say,  when  they  read  these 
accounts  and  mark  the  fiendish  barbarity  of  the  men  who 
proclaimed  themselves  defenders  of  the  faith,  and  note 
that  they  were  taught  to  expect  pardon  and  heaven  for 
their  diabolical  outrages,  the  readers  will  be  prepared  to 
admit  that  the  system  which  sanctioned  such  villainous 
proceedings  could  have  no  other  origin  than  the  pit  of 
darkness.  It  has  been  well  observed  by  a  modern  writer 
that  Popery  is  "  the  masterpiece  of  Satan."  ^ 

To  the  crusaders  succeeded  the  Inquisition,  The  germ 
of  that  institution  appeared  in  the  directions  for  parochial 
visitation  which  have  been  already  mentioned,  and  in  the 
appointment  of  legates  to  various  districts  armed  with 
special  power  to  punish  heretics.  In  the  pontificate  of 
Gregory  IX.,  about  the  year  1233,  the  tribunal  of  the  In- 
quisition was  established  ;  that  is,  the  work  of  punishing 
and  suppressing  heresy  was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
bishops,  and  committed  to  inquisitors.  The  first  court 
was  stationed  at  Toulouse.  Afterward  the  arrangement 
was  extended  to  Spain  and  other  countries,  wherever  the 
pope  could  gain  admittance  for  it.  Dominic  had  shown 
so  much  zeal  in  forwarding  the  object,  and  the  members 
of  his  order,  after  his  death,  evinced  such  alacrity  in  the 
cause,  that  it  was,  at  length,  judged  advisable  to  entrust 

1  Sismondi's  History  of  the  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses.  Jones 
History  of  the  Waldenses,  chap  v.  sect.  6.  Michaud's  History  of  the 
Crtisadcs.     Rev.  R.  Cecil's  Works,  iii.  416.     Edition  1816. 


Il6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Ihe  Inquisition  wholly  to  the  Dominicans.  They  have 
managed  the  tribunal  in  the  most  effective  manner  for  the 
interests  of  Rome,  while  they  have  covered  themselves 
with  deserved  infamy.  The  ecclesiastical  historians  will 
fully  gratify  curiosity  in  this  respect.  Those  who  wish  to 
enter  on  an  extended  inquiry  may  be  advised  to  procure 
Limborch's  "  History  of  the  Inquisition,"  or  Llorente's 
"  History  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain."  The  secresy  of 
its  processes,  the  withholding  of  evidence  from  the  ac- 
cused, the  refusal  to  confront  him  with  the  witnesses,  the 
employment  of  spies,  the  use  of  torture  in  every  horrible 
form  that  malignant  ingenuity  could  devise,  and  th^  un- 
mercifulness  and  hardheartedness  of  the  whole  procedure, 
have  fixed  a  stigma  on  the  Inquisition  which  can  never  be 
effaced.  It  has  accomplished  the  bloody  work  of  Popery 
with  terrible  faithfulness.  In  doing  so  it  has  taught  the 
world  that  Rome  is  the  relentless  enemy  of  truth,  right, 
and  freedom. 

These  tremendous  demonstrations  produced,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  desired  effect.  In  France,  the  Albigenses, 
though  not  altogether  exterminated,  were  silenced  for  a 
time.  Numbers  escaped  from  the  murderers  and  fled  the 
country.  Such  as  remained  were  compelled  to  abstain 
from  public  acts  of  woi'ship  and  to  cease  from  all  at- 
tempts to  spread  their  opinions.  After  the  plans  of  the 
Inquisition  had  been  brought  into  regular  operation,  the 
church  in  France  was  but  little  troubled  with  heretics  for 
the  next  two  hundred  years.  The  suppression  was  not  so 
complete  in  Italy  and  Germany,  and  other  parts  of  Europe, 
whence  there  was  freer  access  to  regions  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  Inquisition. 

At  a  synod  held  in  London  in  the  year   1286,  Arch- 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  \\*J 

bishop  Peckham  condemned  certain  metaphysical  specu- 
lations which  had  been  recently  introduced,  and  which 
indicated  that  those  who  held  them  were  opposed  to  tran- 
substantiation.  The  seventh  article  furnishes  a  key  to  the 
whole.  It  condemns  those  who  affirm  that  in  such  mat- 
tors  they  ought  not  to  be  bound  by  the  authority  of  Au- 
gustine, or  Gregory,  or  the  popes,  but  only  by  "  Scripture 
and  necessary  reason."^  These  men, whoever  they  were, 
had  imbibed  right  principles.  One  cannot  help  thinking 
that  they  must  have  been  Baptists,  so  entii'ely  does  the 
position  they  maintained  harmonize  with  our  own.  All 
honor  to  those,  of  every  age  and  of  every  land,  who  will 
not  bow,  in  matters  of  religion,  to  any  other  authority 
than  "  Scripture  and  necessary    reason  !" 

There  were  tens  of  thousands  of  such  men  in  Europe 
in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  The  seed  sown 
by  Peter  of  Bruys,  Henry,  Peter  Waldo,  and  others,  had 
produced  a  plentiful  harvest.  In  vain  did  inquisitors  rage, 
and  plot,  and  torture,  and  burn.  They  were  neither  om- 
niscient nor  omnipresent ;  mighty  as  they  were,  they  were 
not  omnipotent.  If  they  cursed  heresy  here.,  it  sprung 
up  there.,  and  when  hard  pressed,  found  shelter  in  many 
an  inaccessible  mountain  or  secluded  valley.  It  was  only 
in  France  that  the  exterminating  policy  succeeded,  or 
seemed  to  succeed.  In  other  parts  of  the  Continent,  the 
Reformers,  though  "  cast  down,"  were  not  "  destroyed.' 
They  labored  on  noiselessly,  with  good  success,  and 
prayed  and  waited  for  better  times.  They  abounded  in 
every  part  of  the  German  empire,  and  were  found  as  far 
east  as  Constantinople.  The  Pope  could  .  not  suppress 
them  in  Northern  Italy.  So  numerous  were  they  that  a 
1  Labbe  and  Cossart,  xii.  1262. 


Il8  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

member  of  any  of  their  churches  might  t.  avel  from 
Cologne  to  Milan  and  lodge  every  night  in  a  brother's 
house. 

A  quickening  impulse  was  given  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, which  may  be  traced  to  England.  The  absorbing 
propensities  of  the  ecclesiastics  had  excited  general  dis- 
gust, which  often  ripened  into  hatred.  By  operating  on 
the  fears  of  ignorant  or  seriously  disposed  persons,  they 
had  procured,  in  return  for  promised  masses  and  other 
imaginary  benefits,  gifts  and  legacies  of  property  to  an 
immense  amount.  It  was  even  affirmed  that  one  half  of 
the  freehold  estates  of  the  country  was  in  their  possession. 
Profligacy  was  connected  with  wealth,  and  it  was  gener- 
ally believed  that  none  led  more  licentious  lives  than  those 
who  had  taken  the  vow  of  celibacy.  Besides  this,  the 
Mendicant  Orders  were  daily  increasing  in  numbers  and 
strength,  and  as  their  popularity  grew  they  became  for- 
midable rivals  of  the  parish  clergy,  whose  revenues  were 
proportionably  diminished.  Hence  arose  contentions 
fierce  and  long.  Each  party  strove  to  blacken  the  other, 
and  from  the  revelations  made  on  both  sides,  the  people 
gained  information  which  would  have  been  otherwise 
hidden  from  them  ;  for  when  rogues  fall  out,  knavery  is 
disclosed.  These  circumstances  concurred  to  create 
much  bitter  feeling  against  the  clerical  orders.  Dislike 
of  their  characters  and  deeds  led  to  doubts  respecting 
their  teachings.  Who  could  hope  to  hear  good  words 
fiom  foul  mouths?  Opinions  which  had  been  long  cur- 
rent in  the  church  began  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion, 
and  customs  which  had  become  venerable  for  their  an- 
tiquity were  neglected,  or  submitted  to  w.'th  reluctance, 
perhaps  sneered  at. 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  119 

John  de  Wycline's  influence  greatly  contributed  to 
these  results.  The  insolence  and  rapacity  of  the  Men- 
dicant Order?  first  moved  his  indignation.  He  lectured 
against  them  at  Oxford  so  powerfully  that  a  determina 
tion  to  withstand  their  encroachments  became  general 
among  thinking  men,  who  were  encouraged  in  their  op- 
position by  a  considerable  number  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry.  Pursuing  his  inquiries,  Wycliffe  went  farther 
than  he  originally  intended,  and  propounded  opinions 
which  were  extremely  unpalatable  to  the  staunch  sup- 
porters of  Popery.  Rome  upheld  and  protected  the 
Mendicants,  and  stirred  up  persecution  against  all  who 
opposed  them.  Wycliffe  himself  was  in  great  danger, 
and  would  have  fallen  a  victim  to  Papal  vengeance,  but 
for  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  and  other 
men  of  high  rank.  He  was  compelled  to  leave  Oxford 
however,  and  to  retire  to  his  rectory  of  Lutterworth, 
Leicestershire,  where  he  died  in  peace,  December  31st, 
13S4.  For  many  years  before  his  death  he  had  continued 
to  follow  the  leadings  of  truth  and  to  yield  to  conviction. 
The  injustice  of  the  popes  in  regard  to  the  Mendicant 
controversy,  and  their  steadfast  resolve  to  uphold  all 
abuses  and  resist  all  reforms,  filled  him  with  disgust. 
What  was  the  character  of  the  system  which  cherished 
such  enormities?  In  answering  that  question,  he  was  led 
to  compare  the  professed  Christianity  of  the  fourteenth 
century  with  the  New  Testament.  The  contrast  shocked 
him.  He  saw  that  the  religion  of  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles had  long  been  practically  abjured.  The  cunning, 
crooked  policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  withholding 
the  Scriptures  from  the  people,  and  thus  placing  them 
in  a  state  of  abject  dependence  on  the  priesthood,  was 


120  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

contemplated  with  abhorrence.  He  devoted  himself  to 
the  enlightenment  of  his  countrymen.  By  the  pubiicatior* 
of  short  tracts  and  carefully-written  treatises,  he  set  be- 
fore them,  in  plain,  nervous  style,  the  evils  in  which  they 
had  been  involved,  and  the  truths  which  claimed  their 
faith.  He  exhorted  them  to  think  and  judge  for  them- 
selves. He  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in  translating 
the  Scriptures  into  the  English  language,  and  happily 
accomplished  his  purpose.  For  the  first  time  the  people 
of  England  had  the  opportunity  of  reading  the  word  of 
God  in  their  own  tongue.  A  moi"e  precious  gift  than  the 
English  Bible  could  not  have  been  bestowed  upon  them. 
When  the  pope  condemned  Wycliffe's  sentiments,  he 
ordered  the  government  of  England  to  deal  with  him  as 
a  heretic  ;  but  the  Reformer's  friends  were  so  numerous 
and  influential  that  the  Papal  shaft  fell  harmless.  The 
subject  was  taken  up  by  the  Council  of  Constance,  which 
met  in  the  year  1415,  and  a  sentence  of  condemnation 
w"as  issued.  Wycliffe  was  out  of  their  reach,  but  his 
books  were  widely  circulated,  and  his  bones  were  in  his 
grave  at  Lutterworth.  Books  and  bones  were  deemed 
fit  objects  of  revenge,  and  orders  were  given  to  burn 
them.  The  sentence  was  not  executed  on  his  bones  till 
the  year  142S,  when,  by  command  of  Pope  Martin  V., 
the  tomb  was  violated.  After  a  repose  of  upward  of 
forty  years,  the  remains  of  the  good  man  were  disin- 
terred. The  fire  reduced  them  to  ashes,  and  the  ashes 
were  cast  into  the  Swift,  a  small  stream  that  runs  through 
Lutterworth.  Thomas  Fuller,  the  quaint  church  his- 
torian, says:  "This  brook  has  conveyed  his  aslies  into 
Avon,  Avon  into  Severn,  Severn  into  the  narrow  seas, 
they  into  the   main  ocean.     And  thus  the  ashes  of  Wy- 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  1 21 

clifte  arc  the  emblem  of  his  doctrine,  which  now  is  dis- 
persed all  the  world  over."' 

After  Wyclifle's  death,  the  work  was  carried  on  by  the 
Lollards,  as  those  who  embraced  his  opinions  were  called. 
The  origin  of  that  appellation  is  hid  in  obscurity.  Some 
derive  it  from  the  name  of  one  of  tlieir  traders,  Walter 
Lollard.  Others,  with  Mosheim,  re^^ard  it  as  "  a  term 
of  reproach,  brought  from  Belgium  into  England."^  So 
great  was  their  success  that  a  Romish  writer  of  those 
times  affirms  that  one-half  of  the  people  had  become  dis- 
affected to  the  church.  This  was  an  exaggeration  ;  but 
it  is  evident,  from  the  strenuous  endeavors  of  the  eccle- 
siastics to  procure  the  adoption  of  violent  measures,  that 
the  reforming  party  had  assumed  a  formidable  appear- 
ance. The  Lollards  traveled  from  place  to  place,  preach- 
ing and  teaching,  as  the  Waldenses  and  others  did  on  the 
Continent.  Sometimes  they  obtained  the  churches  ;  for 
many  of  them  belonged  to  the  clergy,  and  kept  their 
places  as  Wycliffe  had  done  before  them.  Sometimes 
they  preached  in  the  churchyards ;  they  went  to  the  fairs 
and  markets,  where  the  people  congregated  in  great 
numbers,  and  often  addressed  immense  assemblies,  who 
heard  them  with  much  sympathy  and  respect.  They 
circulated  portions  of  the  Scriptures  as  they  had  oppor- 
tunity, and  thus  there  grew  up  a  strong  attachment  to  the 
word  of  God.  Men  would  sit  up  all  night  to  read  it  or 
to  hear  it  read  by  others.  Some  "  would  give  a  load  of 
hay  for  a  few  chapters  of  St.  James  or  St.  Paul  in  Eng- 
lish," as  John  Foxe  testifies.     The  bishops  stormed  and 

1  Church  History  of  Britain,  book  iv.  cent.  15,  sect.  52-154.  See  Dr, 
Vaughan's  Life  ami  Opinions  of  yohn  de  Wycliffe. 

*  Ecclesiastical  History,  cent.  xiv.  part  2,  chap.  ii.  sect  20. 
11 


122  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

raved.  In  the  year  1400  they  procured  the  enactment  of 
the  statute  de  hceretlco  comburendo,  and  burned  as  many 
so-called  heretics  as  tliey  could  lay  then"  h^nds  on.  In 
some  instances  even  children  were  compelled  to  set  fire 
to  the  pile  in  which  their  parents  were  to  be  consumed. 
Others  "  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings." 
Yet  the  light  of  the  gospel  was  not  extinguished.  When 
the  Reformation  broke  out,  there  were  many  thousands 
in  England  who  were  already  prepared  to  side  with  the 
friends  of  truth  against  the  pope  and  his  abettors. 

From  England  the  movement  spread  eastward  as  far 
as  Bohemia.  To  what  extent  the  influence  of  Wycliffe's 
writings  was  felt  in  the  intervening  countries  I  am  nol 
able  to  say,  but  that  they  were  very  popular  in  Bohemia 
is  matter  of  history.  Anne  of  Bohemia,  queen  of  Richard 
II.,  befriended  the  Reformer,  and  probably  transmitted 
copies  of  his  works  to  her  own  country.  John  Huss  pos- 
sessed them  and  studied  them  attentively.  Many  others, 
some  of  them  persons  of  high  rank,  were  eager  to  obtain 
the  Englishman's  books.  When  the  Council  of  Con- 
stance ordered  them  to  be  burned,  upward  of  two  hun- 
dred volumes,  most  of  them  richly  bound  and  adorned, 
were  thrown  into  the  flames.  But  many  more,  we  may 
be  sure,  were  retained  by  their  owners.  Wyclifte,  though 
dead,  continued  to  speak  and  instruct.  Peter  of  Bruys 
and  other  godly  men  lived  in  their  successors.  At  the 
close  of  this  period  there  were  vast  numbers  in  every 
part  of  Europe  who  "  worshiped  God  in  the  spirit,  rejoiced 
in  Christ  Jesus,  and  had  no  confidence  in  the  flesh." 
Councils  had  thundered  forth  their  curses,  popes  had  issued 
their  bulls,  and  inquisitors  had  exhausted  their  ingenuity 
— but  it  was  all  in  vain.     The  Church  of  God  still  lived. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Various  Opinions  respecting  Baptism — Berengar — Peter  of  Bruys— 
Henry  of  Lausanne— Arnold  of  Brescia— Cologne— England— Lorn- 
bers — Pope  Lucius  IIL 

THE  Reformers  of  whom  I  have  given  a  brief  account, 
although  they  differed  from  one  another  on  some 
minor  points,  agreed  in  these  three  things :  The  sole 
authority  of  Scripture  in  matters  of  religion,  in  opposition 
to  the  burdens  of  tradition  which  had  been  laid  upon 
men's  shoulders ;  the  spiritual  nature  of  Christianity,  and 
the  consequent  necessity  of  personal  faith  and  regenera- 
tion by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  opposition  to  dead  forms  and 
reliance  on  the  priesthood  ;  and  the  right  of  every  one  to 
think  and  act  for  himself  in  these  all-important  affairs,  in 
opposition  to  the  tyrannical  assumptions  of  the  Romish 
clergy,  sustained  by  the  secular  power.  They  sought 
Bible  truth,  spiritual  life,  soul  freedom.  This  threefold 
cord  will  guide  us  in  the  labyrinthine  darkness  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Whenever  we  can  lay  our  hands  on  it  we 
find  the  grace  and  power  of  God. 

I  come  now  again  to  the  consideration  of  Daptism. 
On  this  subject  there  were  differences  of  opinion.  Some 
retained  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  dominant  church, 
others  rejected  both  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper ;  for 


124  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

the  former  they  substituted  a  ceremony  which  they  called 
"  consolamentum,"  or  the  "  baptism  by  fire,"  in  allusion 
to  the  words  of  John  the  Baptist.  "  They  assembled  in 
a  room  dark  and  closed  in  on  all  sides,  but  illuminated  bji 
a  large  number  of  lights  affixed  to  the  walls.  Then  the 
new  ca  didate  was  placed  in  the  centre,  where  the  pre- 
siding officer  of  the  sect  laid  a  book,  probably  the  Gospel 
of  John,  on  his  head,  and  gave  him  the  imposition  of 
hands,  at  the  same  time  reciting  the  Lord's  prayer."  ^  In 
arguing  against  infant  baptism  they  adopted  the  same 
course  of  reasoning  as  has  been  employed  by  the  Baptists 
in  all  ages.  They  uniformly  exposed  the  absurdity  of 
baptizing  those  who  could  not  believe.  A  third  party 
propounded  scriptural  truth,  but  evidence  is  wanting  as 
to  how  far  their  views  were  developed.  It  may  be  in- 
ferred that  they  abstained  from  baptizing  children,  as  in 
all  consistency  they  were  bound  to  do.  The  fourth  class 
consisted  of  those  who  not  only  taught  Baptist  sentiments, 
but  openly  reduced  them  to  practice.  I  will  furnish  such 
information  as  I  have  gathered  respecting  them,  derived 
from  the  original  sources.  There  will  be  no  hazarding  of 
conjectures  or  surmises. 

Many  of  the  councils  of  this  period  refer  in  general 
terms  to  the  heretics  of  the  times,  condemning  them  in 
the  lump,  without  enumerating  the  various  sects,  and 
sometimes  without  any  specification  of  their  opinions.  In 
some  instances,  hovk-ever,  there  is  such  reference.  Those 
who  rejected  "  baptism  of  children"  were  condemned  by 
the  following  councils,  viz.  :  Toulouse,  A.  d.  i  i  19  ;  Lateran 
II.,  A.  D.  1139;  Lateran  III.,  A.  d.  1179;  London,  a.d. 
1391.     I  do  not  affirm  that  all  the  parties  condemned 

1  Eckbeit  cont.  Catharos,  in  Biblioth.  Maxima,  xxiii.  615. 


THE  REVIVAL   PERIOD.  1 25 

were  Baptists,  because  probably  some  of  them  rejected 
both  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper ;  but  I  wish  to  direct 
particular  attention  to  the  fact  that  their  denial  of  infant 
baptism  was  uniformly  justified  by  them  on  the  ground 
of  the  non-existence  of  faith  in  the  child.  They  saw 
clearly  that  in  the  New  Testament  faith  was  always  rep- 
resented as  the  prerequisite  to  baptism,  and  hence  they 
naturally  enough  said,  "  These  children  cannot  believe — 
why  do  you  baptize  them  ?" 

Berengar  of  Tours  was  an  excellent  man.  He  was 
principal  of  the  cathedral  school  in  that  city,  and  after- 
ward archdeacon  of  Angers.  His  fame  as  a  teacher  in- 
duced young  men  in  different  parts  of  France  to  repair  to 
him  for  instruction,  Neander  says,  "  He  was  constantly 
deviating  from  the  beaten  track — striking  out  his  own 
path,  in  matters  both  of  secular  and  ecclesiastical  science 
— a  proof  of  the  independence  and  freedom  of  judgment 
with  which  he  pursued  all  his  inquiries.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, he  studied  to  make  improvements  in  grammar, 
and  endeavored  to  introduce  a  new  pronunciation  of 
Latin."  *  This  freedom  and  independence  eminently 
characterized  his  theological  researches.  The  controversy 
on  transubstantiation  attracted  his  attention,  and  he  was 
quickly  repelled  by  the  absurdities  propounded  on  that 
subject.  He  saw  that  Christian  ordinances  required  faith 
in  those  who  observed  them,  without  which  the  observ- 
ance was  altogether  useless ;  and  in  regard  to  the  Lord's 
supper,  in  particular,  he  abjured  the  commonly  received 
opinion,  and  taught  the  spiritual  presence  of  the  Saviour, 
in  connection  with  the  believing  apprehension,  on  the 
part  of  the  communicant,  of  the  truths  embodied  in  the 

1  History  0/  the  Church,  iii.  533. 
11* 


126  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

institution.  For  this  he  was  severely  persecuted,  con- 
demned,  and  compelled,  through  fear  of  death,  to  re- 
nounce his  alleged  heresies.  But  he  reasserted  them,  and 
they  were  embraced  by  great  numbers  of  his  former  pu- 
pils, and  '">y  many  other  persons  in  France  and  Germany. 
In  the  following  extract  from  one  of  Berengar's  writ- 
ings, we  may  see  in  what  light  he  viewed  baptism  and 
the  Lord's  supper :  ''  Our  Lord  Christ  requires  of  thee 
no  more  than  this.  Thou  believest  that  out  of  his  great 
compassion  fot  the  human  race  he  poured  out  his  blood 
for  them  ;  and  that  thou,  by  virtue  of  this  faith,  wilt  be 
cleansed  by  his  blood  from  all  sin.  He  requires  of  thee, 
that,  constantly  mindful  of  this  blood  of  Christ,  thou 
shouldst  use  it  to  sustain  the  life  of  thy  inner  man  in  this 
earthly  pilgrimage,  as  thou  sustainest  the  life  of  thy  out- 
ward man  by  meat  and  drink.  He  also  requires  of  thee 
that,  in  the  faith  that  God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give 
his  only  begotten  Son  as  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  thou 
shouldst  submit  to  outward  baptism,  to  represent  how 
thou  oughtest  to  follow  Christ  in  his  death  and  in  his 
resurrection.  The  bodily  eating  and  drinking  of  bread 
and  wine — says  he — should  remind  thee  of  the  spiritual 
eating  and  drinking  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Cluist,  that 
whilst  thou  art  refreshed  in  the  inner  man  by  the  con- 
templation of  his  incarnation  and  of  his  passion,  thou 
mayest  follow  him  in  humility  and  patience."  ^  A  per- 
son who  held  such  sentiments  as  these  could  not  with 
propriety  practice  infant  baptism.  Consequently,  we 
find  that  he  is  charged  by  writers  of  those  times  with  at- 
tempting to  overthrow  that  rite.  Deoduin,  bishop  of 
Liege  (died  a.d.  1075),  says  of  Berengar,  and  of  Bruno, 
'  Neander's  History  of  the  Church,  iii.  525. 


THE   REVIVAL  PERIOD.  1 27 

bishop  of  Angers,  who  had  been  one  of  his  pupils — "  as 
far  as  is  in  tlieir  power  tlicy  overturn  che  baptism  of  little 
children."  Guitniund,  a  Benedictiu*.  vnonk,  and  after- 
ward archbishop  of  Aversa  (died  a.d.  ioSo),  uses 
similar  language,  and  expresses  his  horror  at  the  "  depth 
of  al'  evil"  into  which  such  persons  would  be  likely  to 
fall,  whom  the  devil  should  persuade,  through  Berengar, 
to  renounce  their  baptism  in  infancy,  since,  as  he  sup- 
posed, th:iy  would  hold  themselves  at  liberty  to  plunge 
into  every  vice,  in  the  assurance  that  whenever  they 
might  be  baptized  all  would  be  cleansed  away.^  We 
cannot  sympathize  with  Guitmund  in  that  matter.  We 
pity  his  ignorance.  Berengar's  teaching  did  not  produce 
such  effects. 

Berengar  died  a.d.  ioSS.  Later  writers  have  stated 
that  his  followers  were  very  numerous.  It  is  even  said 
that  in  the  next  century  as  many  as  800,000  persons  pro- 
fessed his  sentiments.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  any 
exact  enumeration  is  impossible.  As  Berengarians  the 
party  was  not  of  long  continuance.  But  the  principles 
remained,  though  the  name  was  disused,  and  were  spread 
over  a  large  part  of  Europe. 

In  less  than  twenty  years  after  Berengar's  death,  Peter 
of  Bruys  was  preaching  in  the  south  of  France  with 
great  power  and  blessing.  I  wish  we  had  the  materials 
for  the  history  of  this  movement  and  Peter's  own  ac- 
count of  his  doctrine.  We  know  not  by  what  means  he 
was  led  to  those  thoughts  and  conclusions  which  issued 
in  his  assuming  ths  bold  position  of  a  reformer.  If  the 
abb)t  of  Clugny  is  to  be  believed,  he  had  been  a  priest, 
and  for  some  unmentioned  reason  had  been  dismissed 

"^Biblioth.    Maxima,  xviii.  441,  531. 


128  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

from  his  parish  ;  but  the  abbot  refrains  from  any  state- 
ment of  facts.  ^  Certainly  Peter  must  have  had  a  pro- 
found conviction  of  the  utter  worthlessness  and  injurious 
tendency  of  the  religion  of  the  age.  He  saw  that  people 
were  "  mad  upon  their  idols,"  substituting  the  outward 
for  the  inward,  the  name  for  the  reality.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  nothing  but  a  radical  change  would  meet  the  necessity 
of  the  case.  Seeing  that  the  churches  were  held  in  so 
great  reverence  as  consecrated  buildings,  the  only  places 
where  worship  should  be  celebrated,  he  taught  that  God's 
blessing  was  not  limited  to  localities,  and  that  prayer  to 
him,  if  sincere,  was  as  acceptable  in  a  shop  or  in  the 
market-place  as  in  a  church,  in  a  stable  as  before  an  altar. 
Reproving  the  pomp  and  splendor,  and  the  constant  ap- 
peals to  the  senses  by  which  the  public  services  were 
characterized,  especially  the  chants  and  the  music,  he  in- 
structed the  people  that  "  pious  affections"  were  far  more 
pleasing  to  God  than  loud  vociferations.  Instead  of  con- 
niving at  the  adoration  of  the  cross,  or  allowing  any  re- 
spect to  be  paid  to  it,  he  said  that  it  should  only  be  re- 
garded as  the  representation  of  an  instrument  of  cruelty, 
and  therefore  worthy  of  all  detestation  and  fit  to  be  de- 
stroyed. There  was  a  practical  demonstration  of  the 
effects  of  his  instructions.  The  people  assembled  in  great 
numbers  on  Good  Friday,  collected  all  the  crosses  they 
could  lay  their  hands  on,  made  a  bonfire  of  them,  roasted 
meat  at  the  fire,  and  ate  it  publicly.  Once  more,  Peter 
dissuaded  1  is  heaiers  from  attempting  to  benefit  the  dead 
by  prayers  or  by  payment  for  priests'  masses.  No  ad- 
vantage, he  told  them,  could  accrue  to  the  departed  fvom 
an^  thing  of  the  kind. 

1  Biblioth.  Maxima,  xxii.  1058. 


THE  REVIVAL   PERIOD.  129 

Baptism  and  the  church  were  contemplated  by  Peter 
hi  the  pure  light  of  Scripture.  The  church  should  be 
composed,  he  constantly  atllrmed,  of  true  believers,  good 
and  just  persons ;  no  others  had  any  claim  to  member- 
ship. Baptism  was  a  nullity  unless  connected  with  per- 
sonal faith,  but  all  who  believed  were  under  solemn 
obligation  to  be  baptized,  according  to  the  Saviour's 
CO  mmand 

Peter  was  not  merely  what  is  now  called  a  "  Baptist  in 
principle."  When  the  truths  he  inculcated  were  received, 
and  men  and  women  were  raised  to  "  newness  of  life," 
they  were  directed  to  the  path  of  duty.  Baptism  fol- 
lowed faith.  Enemies  said  that  this  was  Anabaptistn^ 
but  Peter  and  his  friends  indignantly  repelled  the  impu- 
tation. The  rite  performed  in  infancy,  they  maintained, 
was  no  baptism  at  all,  since  it  wanted  the  essential  ingre- 
dient, faith  in  Christ.  Then,  and  then  only,  when  that 
faith  was  professed,  were  the  converts  really  baptized.' 

Great  success  attended  Peter's  labors.  At  first  he 
preached  in  thinly-populated  j^laces  and  villages.  But, 
like  his  Divine  Master,  he  "  could  not  be  hid."  Multi- 
tudes flocked  to  hear  him,  and  the  towns  and  cities  of 
Nai-bonne  and  Languedoc  were  enlightened  by  his  min- 
istry. This  continued  for  twenty  years.  What  an  inter- 
esting chapter  would  it  form  in  the  history  of  the  church 
if  the  record  of  the  facts  could  be  recovered !  What 
striking  conversions !  What  penetrating,  powerful  ser- 
mons !  What  revival  meetings  !  What  lovely  manifesta- 
tions of  Christian  fellowship !  Doubtless  such  scenes 
were  witnessed,  and  ministering  angels  rejoiced ;  and 
the  news  reached  the  saints  in  heaven,  causing  a  frc^h 
'^Magdeburg.  Centuriatores,  cent.  xii.  331. 


I30  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

outburst  of  joyful  acclaim.  And  again  they  sang,  "Thou 
ai"t  worthy,  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to 
God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  nation ;  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God 
kings  and  priests  ;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth." 

Instead  of  recitals  which  would  have  gladdened  our 
hearts,  we  have  but  the  meagre  and  melancholy  jottings 
of  a  foe,  written  with  the  pen  of  prejudice.  Peter  the 
Venerable,  abbot  of  Clugny,  whose  treatise  against  the 
Petrobrusians  is  our  only  authoi-ity  on  this  subject,  sums 
up  all  in  these  words  :  "  The  people  are  rebaptized,  the 
churches  profaned,  the  altars  dug  up,  the  crosses  burned, 
flesh  eaten  in  public  on  the  very  day  of  the  Lord's  pas- 
sion, the  priests  scourged,  the  monks  imprisoned,  and 
compelled  by  threatenings  and  torments  to  marry  wives."* 
When  we  bear  in  mind  that  in  the  first  ebullitions  of  zeal 
during  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century  the  in- 
struments and  objects  of  superstition,  as  well  as  its  abet- 
tors, sometimes  i-eceived  rather  rough  usage,  the  people 
thus  evincing  their  indignation  at  the  trickery  which  had 
been  practiced  upon  them,  we  may  wonder  the  less  at 
any  uproarious  proceedings  taking  place  four  hundred 
years  before.  We  are  under  no  necessity,  however,  of 
believing  that  the  "  rebaptized"  people  committed  the 
outrages  spoken  of.  At  such  times  there  are  always 
many  to  be  found  who  are  willing  to  attach  themselves 
outwardly  to  an  entei"prise  for  the  sake  of  some  worldly 
advantage,  and  when  they  run  into  excesses  the  blame  is 
laid  on  the  cause  with  which  they  are  connected.  Yet, 
partial  and  unsatisfactory  as  Peter  the  Venerable's  state- 
ment is,  it  indicates  the  extent  and  effect  of  the  Reformer  s 
1  Biblioth.  Maxima,  xxii.  1035. 


THE  REVIVAL   PERIOD.  131 

efforts.  Labbc,  the  Jesuit  (  also  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
"  Concilia"),  evidently  regarded  Peter  of  Bruys  as  a  man 
by  whose  labors  great  injury  was  inflicted  on  Romanism. 
These  are  his  words:  "Almost  all  the  heretics  who 
came  after  Peter  of  Bruys  trod  in  the  steps  of  his  heresy ; 
hence  he  may  be  deservedly  called  the  parent  of 
heretics." ' 

Martyrdom  awaited  him.  Having  preached  with  his 
accustomed  fervor  at  St.  Gilles,  in  Languedoc,  the  infuri- 
ated populace  seized  him  and  hurried  him  to  the  stake. 
It  was  like  the  murder  of  Stephen — the  act  of  a  lawless 
mob.  Nor  can  we  doubt  that  the  Lord,  whose  presence 
cheered  the  first  martyr,  comforted  Peter  of  Bruys,  and 
enabled  him  to  meet  death,  even  in  that  terrible  form, 
with  the  composure  of  faith. 

Such  was  the  end  of  a  Baptist  minister  in  the  twelfth 
century.  Peter's  martyrdom  is  supposed  to  have  occurred 
about  the  year  1124.  But  the  bereaved  flocks  were  not 
forsaken.  Another  shepherd  was  ready  to  take  charge  of 
them. 

I  have  again  to  complain  of  the  paucity  of  materials 
for  our  history.  The  little  that  is  known  of  Henry  of 
Lausanne  excites  an  earnest  desire  for  fuller  information. 
But  for  even  that  little  we  are  obliged  to  be  dependent  on 
the  reports  of  enemies  whose  trustworthiness  cannot  be 
relied  on.     They  were  apt  at  defamation. 

Henry  was  a  monk,  an  inmate  of  the  monastery  of 
Clugny,  a  town  about  forty-six  rniles  from  Lyons,  in 
Fr  mce.  The  seclusion  and  inactivity  cf  that  mode  of 
life  ill  comported  with  his  ferv^id  spirit.  He  felt  a  con- 
sciousness of  power,  and  longed  to  do  something  for  the 
1  Cotuil.  X,  1 00 1. 


f32  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

cause  of  God.  Being  eminently  gifted  as  a  public  speaker, 
he  engaged  in  a  preaching  itinerancy.  He  commenced 
his  labors  at  Lausanne  in  Switzerland,  about  the  year 
1116,  and  thence  proceeded  to  the  south  of  France.  His 
first  efforts  were  directed  to  the  reformation  of  manners 
and  morals.  He  declaimed  against  the  vices  of  the  clergy 
and  the  general  dissoluteness  that  prevailed,  and  he 
preached  so  eloquently  that  all  classes  bowed  beneath  his 
rebukes,  great  numbers  confessing  their  sins  and  entering 
upon  a  course  of  reform.  At  Mans,  where,  while  the 
bishop  was  absent  at  Rome,  he  was  permitted  to  occupy 
the  cathedral,  his  influence  over  the  people  became  so 
powerful  that  when  the  bishop  returned  they  refused  to 
receive  him,  and  clamorously  declared  that  they  would 
adhere  to  Henry.  Hildebert,  however — that  was  the 
bishop's  name — m-anaged  the  affair  with  discretion,  and 
Henry  chose  another  field.  He  repaired  to  the  district 
where  Peter  of  Bruys  had  preached,  and  entered  into  his 
labors.  By  this  time  his  own  views  were  greatly  en- 
larged. From  opposing  vice  he  proceeded  to  attack  error. 
A  treatise  which  he  published,  and  which  unfortunately 
is  not  now  extant,  contained  a  fi  11  exposition  of  his  sen- 
timents. It  is  said  that  on  some  points  he  went  farther 
than  Peter,  but  what  they  were  is  not  stated.  This  is 
certain,  that  he  fully  agreed  with  him  on  the  subject  of 
baj^tism,  and  that  those  who  received  the  truth  were 
formed  into  "apostolical  societies,"  or,  as  we  should  now 
say.  Christian  churches. 

His  success  alarmed  the  church  dignitaries  of  the 
country,  who  procured  his  arrest.  He  was  condemned 
by  the  Council  of  Pisa  in  the  year  1134,  and  sentenced 
to  confinement   in   a  monastery.     Having  obtained   his 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  133 

liberty  after  a  short  imprisonment,  he  resumed  the  work 
of  preaching,  and  for  ten  years  the  cities  of  Toulouse  and 
Alby,  and  the  district  in  which  they  are  situated,  enjoyed 
the  benefit  of  his  exertions.  Astonishing  results  followed. 
Many  nobles  sanctioned  and  protected  him.  Multitudes 
were  added  to  the  churches,  and,  as  in  the  times  of  the 
apostles,  "  a  great  company  of  the  priests  were  obedient 
to  the  faith."  The  celebrated  Bernard  of  Clairvaux  says, 
in  a  letter  to  a  nobleman,  "  The  churches  are  without 
flocks,  the  flocks  without  priests,  the  priests  are  nowhere 
treated  with  due  reverence,  the  churches  are  leveled  down 
to  synagogues,  the  sacraments  are  not  esteemed  holy,  the 
festivals  are  no  longer  celebrated ;"  and  he  states  in  one 
of  his  sermons,  that  "  Women  forsake  their  husbands, 
and  husbands  their  wives,  and  run  over  to  this  sect,"  and 
that  "  Clergymen  and  priests  desert  their  communities 
and  churches."  ^  Stripping  these  expressions  of  their 
Romish  meaning,  the  facts  of  the  case  clearly  show  them- 
selves. Had  Henry  been  the  historian,  he  would  have 
said,  "  God  has  blessed  his  work ;  priests  and  people 
have  received  the  gospel ;  true  churches  are  now  formed ; 
Christian  ordinances  have  supplanted  the  old  supersti- 
tions, and  the  commands  of  Christ,  and  his  only,  are 
obeyed." 

Pope  Eugenius  heard  of  it,  and  sent  Cardinal  Alberic, 
accompanied  by  Bernard,  to  quash  the  movement.  Ber- 
nard was  reverenced  as  a  great  saint,  and  was  accustomed 
to  carry  everything  before  him  ;  but  the  Henricians  knew 
Scripture  as  well  and  probably  better  than  he,  and  quoted 
it  against  him  with  great  effect.     He  met  with  poor  suc- 

'  Epist.  240.     In  Cantic.  Scrmones,  65,  66.     Opera,  i.  438-440,  iii.  415- 
432.     EA  Paris.     1667. 
12 


13^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

cess.  But  when  preaching  failed,  force  was  employed. 
Henry  was  again  seized.  A  council  held  at  Rheims  in 
the  yeai  1148  condemned  him,  and  he  ended  his  days  in 
prison.  Samson,  the  archbishop  of  Rheims,  disapproved 
of  shedding  blood  for  the  faith,  and  so  the  perpetual 
dungeon  was  substituted  for  the  stake.  Henry  languished 
in  solitude  and  privation  (for  they  put  him  on  meagre 
diet)  till  the  Master  called  him.  The  time  of  his  death 
has  not  been  recorded.  ^ 

Hildebert,  bishop  of  Mans,  styled  Henry  "  a  great 
snare  of  the  devil  and  a  celebrated  champion  of  Anti- 
christ."* These  expressions  are  significant  of  extensive 
influence.  And,  indeed,  it  appears  that  his  sentiments 
spread  not  only  in  Languedoc,  where  he  chiefly  labored, 
but  in  other  parts  of  France.  It  is  probable  that  his  dis- 
ciples traveled  into  Germany,  and  propagated  the  same 
doctrine  there. 

Wall  says,  in  his  "  History  of  Infant  Baptism,"  thai 
Peter  of  Bruys  and  Henry  were  "  the  first  Antipaedo- 
baptist  preachers  that  ever  set  up  a  church  or  society  of 
men  holding  that  opinion  against  infant  baptism,  and  re- 
baptizing  such  as  had  been  baptized  in  infancy." '  I  do 
not  admit  the  correctness  of  Mr.  Wall's  statements,  be- 
cause those  churches  can  be  traced  a  great  way  farther 
back.  I  was  about  to  say,  that  we  can  trace  their  history 
as  far  back  as  the  year  31,  when  the  first  church  was 
formed  at  Jerusalem  ;  but  Mr.  Wall's  epithet,  "  Antipae- 
dobaptist,"  stands  in  the  way.     That  church  was  not  an 

1  Dr.  Allix  says  that  he  was  burnt  at  Toulouse,  A.D.  1 147,  but  he  gives 
no  authority  for  the  statement     Remarks  on  the  Albigenses,  chap.  xiv. 
''■  Biblioth.  Maxima,  xxi.  157. 
3  Vol.  ii.  p.  250.     Third  edition. 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  1 35 

"  Antipasdobaptist"  church,  because  Paedobaptists  had 
not  then  appeared  hi  the  world.  Infant  baptism  was 
then  unknown.  Mr.  Wall,  however,  grants  that  there 
were  Baptist,  or,  as  he  calls  them,  "  Antipaedobaptist, " 
churches  in  the  twelfth  century.  That  is  50  far  good. 
Some  persons  in  these  times  wish  to  ignore  all  this,  and 
make  us  start  from  the  sixteenth  century.  Mr.  Wall 
knew  better. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  are  not  furnished 
with  any  particulars  respecting  the  order  of  worship  or 
the  mode  of  church  government  adopted  by  Peter  and 
Henry.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  plainness  and  sim- 
plicity characterized  the  whole,  and  that  there  was  a  rigid 
adherence  to  the  laws  of  the  New  Testament.  They 
called  Jesus  "  Master  and  Lord."  They  rendered  obe- 
dience to  his  commandments,  as  interpreted  and  exempli- 
fied by  the  apostles,  and  were  so  scrupulously  conscien- 
tious in  these  respects  that  the  title  "  Apostolicals" 
distinguished  them  from  others.  How  much  pleasure  it 
would  afford  us  to  read  a  full  description  of  one  of  their 
meetings — and  copies  of  the  hymns  they  sang — and  a 
sermon  or  two  preached  by  Peter  or  Henry — and  a  few 
extracts  from  their  church-books — that  we  might  knov^ 
hi  what  manner  they  sought  to  "  walk  and  to  please 
God  !" 

Arnold  of  Brescia  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in 
history.  By  some  writers  he  has  been  classed  with  "  Bap- 
tist martyrs."  There  is  not  sufficient  evidence  to  war- 
rant such  a  statement.  Arnold  was  a  reformer,  but  not  a 
separatist.  Himself  an  ecclesiastic,  he  employed  all  his 
energies  in  attempting  to  restore  his  order  to  primitive 
plainness  and  purity,  and  thus  to  regain  the  moral  influ- 


136  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

ence  which  had  been  lost,  and  with  it  to  promote  a  re- 
vival of  scriptural  piety.  He  declaimed  loudly  against 
the  wealth  and  luxury  of  the  clergy.  He  taught  that 
they  should  not  be  possessors  of  worldly  property,  but  be 
supported  by  tithes  and  the  voluntary  offerings  of  the 
people.  So  acceptable  were  his  teachings  that  commo- 
tions were  feared,  and  Arnold  was  banished  from  Italy. 
He  pursued  the  same  course  in  France,  whither  he  had 
retired,  and  again  he  was  banished.  We  then  hear  of 
him  in  Switzerland,  where  he  was  still  indefatigable  in 
his  endeavors.  The  great  Bernard,  now  called  Saint 
Bernard,  was  unremitting  in  his  efforts  to  stop  Arnold's 
progress,  and  the  language  employed  in  his  letters  seems 
to  imply  that  the  reformer  did  not  content  himself  with 
inveighing  against  the  pomp  and  pride  of  the  clergy,  but 
exposed  whatever  evils  he  discerned,  and  labored  to  re- 
move all  the  obstacles  that  stood  in  the  way  of  religious 
restoration.  His  own  life  was  a  pattern  of  propriety. 
"  Would  that  his  doctrine,"  says  Bernard,  "  were  as 
sound  as  his  life  is  austere.  If  you  would  know  the  man, 
he  is  one  who  neither  eats  nor  drinks ;  like  the  devil,  he 
hungers  and  thirsts  only  for  the  blood  of  souls."  ^  Hard 
words,  Bernard  !  very  unlike  a  saint ! 

Arnold's  sentiments  became  popular  at  Rome.  He 
went  there  and  thundered  out  well-deserved  invectives 
against  the  union  of  secular  and  ecclesiastical  poWer  in 
the  person  of  the  pope.  His  Holiness,  he  said,  ought  to 
be  a  prelate  only,  not  a  prince.  He  exhorted  the  people 
to  demand  their  ancient  liberties,  and  restore  the  old  form 
of  government.  They  adopted  his  policy.  The  pope 
was  required  to  resign  his  temporal  power.  Insurrection 
'Epist.  195. 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  -     1 37 

followed.  Rome  was  in  a  state  of  disturbance  during  the 
reigns  of  four  successive  popes,  from  1143  to  1154.  Ar- 
nold was  there  all  the  time.  But  Pope  Adrian  IV.  quelled 
the  storm.  He  laid  Rome  under  an  interdict.  The  ter- 
jified  inhabitants  promised  to  expel  Arnold  if  the  pontiff 
would  remove  it.  Arnold  fled.  But  he  was  taken  pris- 
oner in  Tuscany,  and  conveyed  back  to  Rome,  where  he 
was  hanged,  or,  as  some  say,  crucified.  His  body  was 
burned,  and  the  ashes  thrown  into  the  Tiber.  This  was 
in  the  year  1155. 

The  only  authority  for  the  ascription  of  Ba-ptist  senti- 
ments to  Arnold  is  Otto  of  Frisingen,  who  states  in  his 
Chronicle  that  Arnold  was  "  said  {dicitur)  to  be  unsound 
in  his  views  respecting  the  sacrament  of  the  altar  and  the 
baptism  of  children."^  The  common  histories  give  no 
support  to  this  affirmation.  Indeed,  unless  there  has 
been  an  enormous  suppression  of  facts,  Arnold's  atten- 
tion was  mostly  confined  to  the  points  above  mentioned. 
Bernard  styles  him  "  a  flagrant  schismatic."  Baronius 
designates  him  "  the  patriarch  of  political  heretics." 

But  Neander  observes,  "  The  inspiring  idea  of  his 
movements  was  that  of  a  holy  and  pure  church,  a  reno- 
vation of  the  spiritual  order,  after  the  pattern  of  the 
apostolical  church.  .  .  .  The  corrupt  bishops  and  priests 
were  no  longer  bishops  and  priests — the  secularized 
church  was  no  longer  the  house  of  God.  It  does  not 
appear  that  his  opposition  to  the  corrupt  church  had  ever 
led  him  to  advance  any  such  remarks  as  could  be  inter- 
preted into  heresy  ;  for,  had  he  done  so,  men  would,  from 
the  first,  have  proceeded  against  him  more  sharply,  and 
h'is  opponents,  who  spared  no  pains  in  hunting  up  every- 

*  Labbe  and  Cossart,  vi.  1012. 
12  » 


138  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

thing  which  could  serve  to  place  him  in  an  unfavorable 
light,  would  certainly  never  have  allowed  such  heretical 
statements  of  Arnold  to  pass  unnoticed.  But  we  must 
allow  that  the  way  in  which  Arnold  stood  forth  against 
the  corruptions  of  the  church,  and  especially  his  inclina- 
tion to  make  the  objective  in  the  instituted  order,  and  in 
the  transactions  of  the  church,  to  depend  on  the  subjec- 
tive character  of  the  men,  might  easily  lead  to  still  greater 
aberrations."  ^  I  cannot  but  acknowledge  the  correctness 
of  these  remarks,  and  am  disposed  to  think  that  either 
Arnold's  opposition  originally  extended  to  other  particu- 
lars beside  those  specified,  or  that  his  followers  separated 
from  the  church  after  his  death.  The  "  Arnoldists"  were 
proscribed,  with  others,  by  Pope  Lucius,  A.  d.  1183,  and 
by  the  Emperor  Frederic  II.,  in  a  sanguinary  edict  against 
the  various  classes  of  heretics,  issued  in  1224. 

We  have  not  the  means  of  determining  how  the  socie- 
ties established  by  Peter  and  Henry  prospered  after  their 
death.  None  of  the  names  of  their  successors  have 
reached  us.  It  can  only  be  affirmed,  generally,  that  *^he 
work  continued  to  advance,  as  may  be  sufficiently  gathered 
from  the  proceedings  of  sundry  councils. 

The  heretics,  as  they  were  called,  were  very  numerous 
at  Cologne.  Evei'vinus,  provost  of  Steinfeld,  wrote  ags,:nst 
them  in  1146,  and  applied  to  Bernard  for  aid,  who  dij» 
coursed  virulently  on  the  points  in  debate,  and  made  uj 
in  railing  for  the  lack  of  sound  argument. 

Eckbert,  abbot  of  St.  Florin,  published  thirteen  ser- 
mons in  1 163,  in  which  he  labored  hard  to  fix  the  charge 

1  History  of  the  Church,  iv.  149.  See  also  the  Biographical  Dictionary 
of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  Art.  "  Arnold  of 
Brescia." 


THE  REVIVAL   PERIOD.  139 

of  heresy  on  the  Cathari,  who,  as  usual,  were  accused  of 
Manichteism.  While  both  he  and  Evervinus  affirm  that 
the  Cathari  generally  rejected  baptism  altogether,  substi- 
tuting for  it  the  "  Consolamenttiin"  they  agree  in  stating 
that  a  portion  of  them  differed  from  the  others  in  that  re- 
spect. They  rejected  infant  baptism  only,  on  the  ground 
that  infants  could  not  believe,  and  they  taught  that  bap- 
tism should  be  administered  to  none  but  adults.^ 

The  thirty  "  Waldenses,"  as  they  are  called,  who  ap- 
peared in  England  about  the  year  1 159,  probably  belonged 
to  the  same  party.  William,  of  Newbury,  the  chronicler, 
charges  them  with  "  detesting  holy  baptism,"  which  may 
be  fairly  understood  as  implying  the  rejection  of  baptism 
as  then  practiced  by  Rome.^ 

In  1 1 65  a  council  was  held  at  Lombers,  for  the  purpose 
of  dealing  with  some  persons  who  were  known  by  the 
appellation  of  bo7ii  homines  or  "good  men" — whether 
imposed  on  them  by  others,  or  assumed  by  themselves, 
does  not  appear — and  who  were  manifestly  Baptists. 
When  asked  what  they  thought  about  baptism,  they 
answered  that  they  would  not  say,  but  that  they  would 
reply  "  from  the  gospel  and  the  epistles,"  meaning  that 
they  would  adduce  the  Scripture  testimony  on  the  subject, 
and  maintain  the  necessity  of  abiding  by  the  word  of 
God.*     The  bishops  failed  to  convince  them  of  their  error. 

In  a  bull  issued  by  Pope  Lucius  III.,  he  denounced  al) 
who  held  or  taught  any  sentiments  differing  from  those 
professed  by  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  and  he  particularly 
refers  to  baptism.*  The  Baptists  gave  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  to  the  Papists  in  those  days. 

1  Biblioth.  Maxima,  xxiii.  601.     Gieseler,  iii.  397. 

'  Labbe  and  Cossart,  x.  1405.         ^  Ibid.  1470-1479.         *  lb.  x.  1737. 


140 


BAPTIST  HISTORY. 


The  teiTible  storm  which  fell  upon  southern  FrancQ  in 
the  crusade  against  the  Albigenses  doubtless  swept  away- 
many  of  the  Baptist  churches,  and  scattered  their  surviv- 
ing members.  Notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of  the  per- 
secutors, great  numbers  escaped.  Italy,  Germany,  and 
the  eastern  countries  of  Europe  received  them. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Hei  ^tics  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  centuries— Wycliffe's  Senti^ 
ments  on  Baptism — The  Bohemians — Baptism  among  the  Waldenses 
Church  Government — Immersion. 

THE  references  to  heretics  in  the  proceedings  of  coun- 
cils during  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  are 
comparatively  few  in  number  and  very  general  in  their 
character.  The  particular  opinions  held  are  not  specified, 
but  directions  are  given  to  exercise  constan-t  vigilance  lest 
heresies  should  creep  in  unawares,  and  magistrates  are 
specially  charged  to  apprehend  all  suspected  persons,  and 
to  put  in  execution  the  laws  against  them  if  convicted. 
There  was  no  lack  of  zeal  in  that  respect.  The  civil 
powers  were  completely  under  the  control  of  the  clergy, 
who,  while  they  indulged  their  own  savage  propensities, 
and  sought  by  such  means  to  perpetuate  the  reign  of  ig- 
norance and  delusion,  continued  to  evade  the  responsi- 
bility. They  did  not  torture  and  burn  the  heretics  !  How 
could  it  be  supposed  that  ministers  of  mercy  would  have 
anything  to  do  with  deeds  of  blood  "i  Oh  no !  They 
only  delivered  them  up  to  the  secular  power !  The  base 
hypocrites  would  have  hurled  the  thunders  of  excommu- 
nication against  the  secular  power  if  the  heretics  had  been 
spared.      They  did   not   burn  them,  but   they  delivered 


142  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

them  up  for  the  purpose  of  behig  burned  !  Were  they 
not  more  than  accessories  to  the  murders? 

Many  of  the  reformers  of  this  period  inculcated  truths, 
the  legitimate  consequences  of  which  involved  all,  or 
nearly  all,  for  which  we  now  contend.  When  they  argued 
that  a  Christian  church  should  be  a  society  of  the  pious, 
and  that  Christian  ordinances  belonged  to  believers  only, 
they  had  but  another  step  to  take  in  order  to  appear  as 
full  Baptists.  Take  Dr.  Vaughan's  statement  of  John  de 
WyclifFe's  views : 

"  On  baptism  his  expressions  are  at  times  obscure  ;  but, 
according  to  his  general  language,  the  value  of  a  sacra- 
ment must  depend  wholly  on  the  mind  of  the  recipient, 
not  at  all  on  the  external  act  performed  by  the  priest ;  and, 
contrary  to  the  received  doctrine,  he  would  not  allow  that 
infant  salvation  was  dependent  on  infant  baptism."  ^  Con- 
nect with  this  the  charge  brought  against  him  by  the 
Council  of  London,  in  1391,  as  contained  in  one  of  the 
"  articles"  extracted  from  his  "  Trialogus,"  and  which 
was  to  this  effect — that  those  who  held  that  infants  dying 
without  baptism  could  not  be  saved,  were  "  presump- 
tuous and  foolish."  ^  Now,  if  Wycliffe  believed  that  the 
ordinances  of  Christianity  require  faith  in  those  who  ob- 
serve them,  he  would  necessarily  see  the  futility  of  infant 
baptism,  and  the  expression  of  even  a  doubt  respecting 
the  connection  between  infant  baptism  and  salvation 
would  be  regarded  in  that  age  as  equivalent  to  a  denial 
of  the  divine  authority  of  the  rite.  That  great  man, 
however,  lived  and  died  a  priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.     But,  as  I  before  hinted,  the  light  he  had  re- 

^  John  de  Wycliffe,  D.D.,  A  Monograph,  p.  461. 
2  Labbe  and  Cossart,  xi.  2080. 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  1 43 

ceived  would  have  guided  him  into  Baptist  paths  had  he 
followed  it  fully.  Probably,  if  he  had  lived  in  France  or 
Germany,  he  would  have  been  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
seceding  parties.  His  writings  perpetuated  the  beneficial 
influence  exerted  in  his  lifetime.  It  may  be  safely  con- 
cluded that  many  of  his  immediate  followers,  and  others 
who  obtained  possession  of  those  writings,  were  induced 
thereby  to  extend  their  religious  inquiries,  and  thus  be- 
came more  completely  New  Testament  Christians  than 
he  was  himself.  That  they  labored  incessantly  in  propa- 
gating the  truth  is  manifest  from  the  decrees  of  a  council 
held  at  Oxford  in  the  year  1408,  b}'  which  the  clergy 
were  strictly  enjoined  not  to  allow  any  persons  to  preach 
in  their  churches  without  episcopal  license,  and  to  be 
prompt  in  denouncing  to  the  proper  authorities  all  who 
were  chargeable  with  heresy.  The  parties  so  denounced 
were  to  clear  themselves  of  the  charge  or  be  reconciled 
to  the  church,  or  in  default  of  such  clearance  or  recon- 
ciliation be  committed  to  the  civil  power,  in  order  to  be 
"  burned  in  a  conspicuous  place,"  for  a  terror  to  all 
others.*  Notwithstanding  such  perils,  the  servants  of 
God  persevered  in  their  efforts.  They  scattered  abroad 
religious  tracts,  they  taught  the  young  in  schools,  and 
they  preached  in  private  houses  when  the  churches  were 
shut  against  them.  Thus  the  English  mind  was  prepared 
for  the  Reformation.  A  very  full  and  interesting  account 
of  their  proceedings  is  contained  in  "The  Lollards,"  one 
of  the  volumes  published  by  the  London  Religious  Tract 
Society. 

Some  of  them,  perhaps  the  majority,  opposed  infant 
baptism.     Indeed,  it  is  expressly  affirmed  by  several  his- 
*  Labbe  and  Cossart,  2089-2102. 


144  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

torians  that  they  refused  to  baptize  their  new-born  chil- 
dren, and  that  they  were  charged  before  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  with  maintaining  that  infants  who  died  unbap- 
tized  would  be  saved.  This  was  an  unpardonable  sin  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Pcedobaptists,  and  the  Lollards  suffered 
grievously  for  it.^ 

I  stated  in  a  former  chapter  that  in  the  twelfth  century 
Peter  Waldo  and  many  of  his  adherents  retired  to  Bo- 
hemia to  escape  the  fury  of  the  persecution.  Others 
followed  them  in  succeeding  centuries.  There  they 
served  God  according  to  their  consciences.  Diversities 
of  opinion  existed  among  them.  All  held  that  "  in 
articles  of  faith  the  authority  of  Holy  Scripture  is  the 
highest ;"  but,  while  some  retained  infant  baptism,  others 
rejected  it,  and  among  them  the  practice  of  believer's 
baptism  prevailed.^  "  Authentic  records  in  France,"  says 
Mr.  Robinson,  "  assure  us  that  a  people  of  a  certain 
description  were  driven  from  thence  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury. Bohemian  records  of  equal  authenticity  inform  us 
that  some  of  the  same  description  arrived  in  Bohemia 
at  the  same  time,  and  settled  near  a  hundred  miles  from 
Prague,  at  Salz  and  Laun  on  the  river  Eger,  just  on  the 
borders  of  the  kingdom.  Almost  two  hundred  years 
after,  another  undoubted  record  of  the  same  country 
mentions  a  people  of  the  same  description,  some  as  burnt 
at  Prague,  and  others  as  inhabiting  the  borders  of  the 
kingdom  ;  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  that,  we 
find  a  people  of  the  same  description  settled,  by  conni- 
vance, in  the  metropolis,  and  in  several  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom.     About  one  hundred  and  twenty   years   later, 

1  Martyr's  Mirror,\).  275. 

''Jones'  History  of  the  Waldenses,  ii.  44-46,  201. 


THE  REVIVAL  PERIOD.  I45 

we  find  a  people  in  the  same  country  living  under  the 
protection  of  law  on  the  estate  of  Prince  Lichtenstein, 
exactly  like  all  the  former,  and  about  thirty  or  forty  thou- 
sand in  number.  The  religious  character  of  this  people 
is  so  very  different  from  that  of  all  others  that  the  like- 
ness is  not  easily  mistaken.  They  had  no  priests,  but 
taught  one  another.  They  had  no  private  property,  for 
they  held  all  things  jointly.  They  executed  no  offices, 
and  neither  exacted  nor  took  oaths.  They  bore  no  arms, 
and  rather  chose  to  suffer  than  resist  wrong.  They  held 
everything  called  religion  in  the  Church  of  Rome  in  ab- 
horrence, and  worshiped  God  only  by  adoring  his  perfec- 
tions and  endeavoring  to  imitate  his  goodness.  They 
thought  Christianity  wanted  no  comment,  and  they  pro- 
fessed their  belief  of  that  by  being  baptized,  and  their 
love  to  Christ  and  one  another  by  receiving  the  Lord's 
supper."  ^ 

There  has  been  much  dispute  respecting  the  Waldenses. 
Some  have  represented  them  as  being  originally  all  Bap- 
tists. Others,  on  the  contrary,  persist  in  affirming  that 
they  were  all  Paedobaptists.  Neither  statement  is  correct. 
In  Ihe  first  place,  we  must  inquire  who  are  meant  by  the 
apj/ellation  "  Waldenses."  The  old  writers  were  ex- 
tremely careless  in  the  use  and  application  of  epithets. 
After  the  rise  of  the  Manichaeans,  as  has  been  obsei'ved 
in  a  former  chapter,  it  became  the  fashion  to  stigmatize 
all  dissidents  from  the  established  order  by  that  title, 
whether  they  harmonized  with  the  Manichseans  in  pro- 
fession and  practice,  or  not.  So  in  the  twelfth  and  subse- 
quent centuries,  when  Peter  Waldo's  success  had  issued 
in  the  formation  of  a  new  party  bearing  his  name,  that 

'  Ecclesiastical  Researches,  chap.  xiii. 
13 


146  BAPTIST  HISTORY 

was  the  common  appellation.  Many  treatises  were  writ- 
ten "  against  the  Waldenses,"  the  authors  of  which  evi 
dently  intended  their  remarks  to  apply  to  the  Reformers 
of  those  times  generally.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  the 
statements  which  have  been  made  respecting  those  Re- 
formers are  equally  applicable  to  the  Waldenses.  There 
was  no  uniformity  among  them.  A  number  of  them, 
particularly  in  the  eai'ly  part  of  their  history,  judged  that 
baptism  should  be  administered  to  believers  only,  and 
practiced  accordingly  ;  others  entirely  rejected  that  ordi- 
nance, as  well  as  the  Lord's  supper ;  a  third  class  held 
Pjedobaptism.  If  the  question  relates  to  the  Waldenses 
in  the  strict  and  modern  sense  of  the  term,  ^hat  is,  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  originally  the  majority  of  them  were  Baptists, 
although  there  were  varieties  of  opinion  among  them,  as 
well  as  among  other  seceders  from  the  Romish  Church. 

But  the  language  of  some  of  their  confessions  cannot 
be  fairly  interpreted  except  on  Baptist  principles.  One 
of  them,  ascribed  to  the  twelfth  century,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing articles :  "  We  consider  the  sacraments  as  the 
signs  of  holy  things,  or  as  the  visible  emblems  of  invisi- 
ble blessings.  We  regard  it  as  proper  and  even  neces- 
sai'y  that  believers  use  these  symbols  or  visible  forms 
when  it  can  be  done.  Notwithstanding  which,  we  main- 
tain that  believers  may  be  saved  without  these  signs, 
when  they  have  neither  place  nor  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing them."  Here,  you  see,  the  use  of  the  sacraments  is 
limited  to  believers  ;  and,  they  add,  in  another  article, 
"We  acknowledge  no  sacraments,  as  of  divine  appoint- 
ment, but  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper."  How  the 
Waldenses  were  led  to  change  their  practice,  we  need  not 


THE    REVIVAL  PERIOD.  147 

now  inquire  :  it  is  sufficiently  manifest  that  their  views 
harmonized  with  ours  in  the  early  stages  of  their  history. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  church  order  and  govern- 
ment. The  reason  is,  that  but  little  is  known  on  those 
points.  It  is  not  safe  to  rely  on  the  statements  of  advcise 
writers,  who  neither  understood  nor  appreciated  apos- 
tolic descriptions  and  precedents.  Their  own  ecclesias- 
tical affairs  being  managed  without  any  reference  to  the 
New  Testament,  which  was  an  unknown  book  to  most 
of  the  Romish  clergy,  they  were  not  in  a  position  to  form 
a  correct  judgment  respecting  Baptist  societies,  and  were 
perpetually  falling  into  mistakes.  We  may  gather,  how- 
ever, from  occasional  hints  and  references,  that  Peter  of 
Bruys  and  his  successors  formed  the  baptized  into 
churches,  after  the  apostolic  pattern  ;  that  the  churches 
were  presided  over  by  pastors,  regularly  chosen  and  or- 
dained, as  far  as  circumstances  would  allow,  by  whom 
the  ordinances  were  administered  ;  that  all  the  brethren 
were  encouraged  to  exeixise  their  gifts  by  preaching  or 
teaching ;  and  that  brotherly  love  was  practically  mani- 
fested by  generous  contributions  in  aid  of  the  poor  and 
afflicted,  extensive  hospitality,  and  spiritual  sympathy  in 
its  manifold  forms.  The  communion  of  saints  among  them 
was  not  a  theory,  but  a  habit. 

I  must  now  bring  the  account  of  this  period  to  a  close. 
It  has  been  shown  that  there  was  a  continuous  protest 
against  infant  baptism  from  the  eleventh  to  the  sixteenth 
century ;  and  that  even  those  who  did  not  substitute  be- 
liever's baptism  for  it,  or,  rather,  restore  the  ordinance  to 
its  primitive  form,  but  who  were  driven  into  the  other 
extreme,  rejecting  the  sacraments,  grounded  their  op2:)o- 
eition  to  infant  baptism   on   the  necessary  absence,  in  the 


i^S  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

case  of  infants,  of  Christian  faith.  All  confessed  the  in- 
dissoluble connection  between  faith  and  baptism.  All 
maintained  the  sole  authority  of  Scripture  in  matters  of 
religious  belief  and  practice.  All  disavowed  human 
traditions.  All  held  that  the  churches  of  Christ  should 
consist  of  truly  pious  men  and  women.  All  demanded 
and  exercised  the  right  of  private  judgment.  Every  one 
was  at  liberty  to  think,  believe,  profess,  and  worship  as  he 
pleased,  without  the  interference  of  priests,  kings,  coun- 
cils, popes,  or  any  other  earthly  power.  In  a  word,  they 
taught  that  man  is  responsible  in  religion,  not  to  his  fellow- 
man,  but  to  God.     So  have  all  Baptists  taught  in  all  ages. 

Immersion  was  still  the  ordinary  mode.  The  proof 
of  this  is  abundant,  both  as  contained  in  theological 
treatises  and  in  decrees  of  councils. 

Ebrard  and  Ermengard  in  their  works  "  Contra  Wal- 
denses,"  written  toward  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century, 
repeatedly  refer  to  it.^ 

At  the  Synod  of  Exeter,  a.d.  1277,  explicit  directions 
are  given  for  the  baptism  of  children,  should  there  be 
danger  of  death  immediately  after  birth  ;  and  immersion 
is  strictly  prescribed.^ 

The  Ecclesiastical  Constitutions  contain  frequent  in- 
structions respecting  baptismal  fonts,  directing  that  they 
should  be  made  large  enough  for  the  convenient  immer- 
sion of  a  child.  Records  of  the  baptism  of  royal  or 
noble  personages  illustrate  these  statements.  "  Prince 
Arthur,  eldest  son  of  Henry  VII.,  was  thus  baptized." 
The  Princess  Elizabeth  and  Edward  VI.  were  immersed. 
It  was  the  universal  practice.* 

^  Bibltoth.    Maxima,  xxiv.  1542,  1610. 

2  Labbe  and  Cossart,  xi.  1226. 

3  Baptist  Magazine,  Feb.,  1 850,  p.  84. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Rise  of  the  Reformation — Opinions  held  by  the  Baptists — Misrepre- 
sented by  the  Reformers — Their  Wonderful  Increase — Support  under 
Sufferings. 

THE  period  on  which  we  are  now  entering  is  one  of 
wondrous  interest.  The  shackles  with  which  the 
nations  had  been  long  bound  were  broken,  and  it  was 
said  "to  the  prisoners,  Go  forth — to  them  that  were  in 
darkness,  Show  yourselves."  A  great  revival  of  religion 
took  place  all  over  Europe.  Popery  was  renounced  by  a 
large  portion  of  the  German  people,  by  the  Swiss,  the 
Dutch,  the  Danes,  the  Swedes,  the  Norwegians,  the 
English,  Welsh,  and  Scotch,  and  by  great  numbers  in 
Austria,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Bavaria,  Italy,  and  France. 
When  Luther  blew  the  trumpet  of  religious  freedom, 
tlie  sound  was  heard  far  and  wide,  and  the  Baptists  came 
out  of  their  hiding-places,  to  share  in  the  general  glad- 
ness and  to  take  part  in  the  conflict.  For  years  they 
had  lived  in  concealment,  worshiped  God  by  stealth,  and 
practiced  the  social  duties  of  Christianity  in  the  best 
manner  they  could,  under  the  most  unfavorable  circum- 
stances. Now,  they  hoped  for  peace  and  enlargement, 
and  fondly  expected  to  enjoy  the  co-oper3*^ion  of  the  Re 

151 


152  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

formers  in  cariying  into  effect  those  changes  which  they 
knew  were  required  in  order  to  restore  Christian  churches 
to  primitiv^e  purit}'.  They  were  doomed  to  bitter  disap- 
pointments. The  Reformers  had  no  sympathy  with  Bap- 
tist principles,  but  strove  to  suppress  them.  Papists  and 
Protestants,  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  treated  them 
in  the  same  manner.  The  Baptists  traveled  too  fast  and 
went  too  far  ;  if  they  could  not  be  stopped  by  other  means, 
the  fire  must  be  lighted  or  the  headsman's  axe  employed 
Thus  the  men  were  silenced  ;  the  Emperor  Charles  V., 
whom  historians  have  delighted  to  honor,  ordered  the 
women  to  be  drowned,  or  buried  alive.  Hundreds  were 
sent  out  of  the  world  by  these  methods  ;  thousands  more 
lost  their  lives  by  the  slower  processes  of  penury  and  in- 
numerable hardships.  The  demon  of  persecution  reaped 
an  immense  harvest  in  those  days. 

Although  there  was  not  absolute  uniformity  of  opinion 
among  the  Baptists,  for  they  were  shy  of  creeds,  knowing 
how  they  had  been  used  to  serve  the  purposes  of  soul- 
bondage,  certain  important  truths  were  viewed  by  all  of 
them  in  the  same  light.  Modes  of  expression  varied, 
but  they  were  substantially  of  one  mind,  those  of  Poland 
only  excepted,  who  leaned  to  the  system  which  was  after- 
ward termed  "  Socinianism."  Baptist  theology  harmon- 
ized with  that  of  the  Reformation  in  regard  to  the  leading 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  such  as  justification  by  faith,  the 
necessity  of  divine  influence,  etc.  The  sole  authority  of 
Scripture  in  matters  of  religion  was  carried  out  to  its  le- 
gitimate issues,  and  everything  was  rejected  which  would 
not  abide  the  test,  so  that  all  rites  and  observances  that 
were  not  expressly  enjoined  in  the  word  of  God  were 
swept  away  at  once.     Steadfastly  main  aining  that  be- 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD. 

•^*  14. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

FROM  A.  D.   I517  TO  A.  D.   I567. 

15 19.  Zuingli  settled  at  Zurich. 

1520.  Papal  Bull  issued  against  Luther. 

1 52 1.  Diet  of  Worms. 

1522.  German  New  Testament  published, 

1524.  Danish  New  Testament  published. — Insurrection  of  the  Peasants 

in  Germany. 

1525.  Helvetic  New  Testament  published. — Tyiidale's  New  Testamen* 

published. 

1526.  Swedish  New  Testament  published. — Belgic  Bible  published. 

1529.  Diet  of  Spires. — Protest  of  the  Reformers. 

1530.  Confession  of  Augsburg. — League  of  Smalcald. — Death  of  Car 

dinal  Wolsey,  November  29th. 

1 53 1.  Death  of  Zuingli,  Oct.  nth. — Death  of  Ecolampadius,  Nov.  23d 

1534.  Papal  Supremacy  abolished  in  England. — Insurrection  at  Munster. 

1535.  Coverdale's  Bible  published. 

1536.  Death  of  Erasmus,  July  12th. — Martyrdom  of  Tyndale,  Oct.  6th. 

1539.  The  Reformation  established  in  Denmark. 

1540.  Icelandic  New  Testament  published. — Order  of  the  Jesuits  estab- 

lished. 

1 541.  Swedish  Bible  published. 

1545.  Council  of  Trent  opened,  December  13th 

1546.  Death  of  Luther,  February  i8th. 
1548.   Finnish  New  Testament  published. 
1550.  Danish  Bible  published. 

1552.  Polish  New  Testament  published. 

1553.  Popery  restored  in  England  by  Mary. 

1555.  Martyrdom  of  Bishops  Hooper,  Feb.  9th,  Ridley  and  Latimer 

Oct.  1 6th. — Peace  of  Religion,  Augsburg,  Sept.  25th. 

1556.  Martyrdom  of  Cranmer,  March  21st. — Death  of  Ignatius  Loyola, 

July  31st. 

1557.  Geneva  English  New  Testament  published. 

1558.  Accession  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

1559.  The  Reformation  settled  in  England. — Establishment  of  the  High 

Commission  Court. — Rise  of  the  Puritans. 

1560.  Death  of  Melanchthon,  April  19th. — Geneva  English  Bible  pulv 

lished. — Geneva  French  New  Testament. 

1561.  Death  of  Menno  Simon,  Jan.  15th. 

1563.  Polish  Bible  published. — Close  of  the  Council  of  Vrent,  Dec.  4th. 

— Croatian  New  Testament  published. 

1564.  Pope  Pius'  Creed  published. — Death  of  Calvin,  May  27th. 
1567.  Publication  of  the  Welsh  New  Testament. — The  Reformation  es- 
tablished in  Scotland. 

150 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 53 

lievers,  and  bel  levers  only,  were  the  proper  subjects  of 
baptism,  they  pleaded  for  a  pure  church.  The  Reformera 
were  astonished  at  this  demand.  They  said  that  the 
thing  was  impossible  ;  that  there  always  had  been  tares 
among  the  wheat,  and  that  so  it  would  be  till  the  end  of 
time  ;  that  the  good  and  the  bad  must  be  indiscriminately 
mixed  in  the  Christian  commonwealth.  We  need  not 
wonder  at  this  ;  Popery  and  Pcedobaptism  had  blinded 
their  eyes.  They  had  never  seen  a  New  Testament 
church,  and  they  practically  kept  out  of  sight  the  teach- 
ings of  the  New  Testament  on  the  subject,  as  it  is  quite 
necessary  to  do  when  the  Pa;dobaptist  theory  is  fully  ad- 
mitted ;  for  if  infants  are  baptized,  and  all  who  are  bap- 
tized may  claim  church-fellowship,  the  church  which  is 
so  formed  must  be  a  very  different  organization  from  that 
which  was  instituted  at  Jerusalem,  when  "believers  were 
the  more  added  to  the  Lord,  multitudes  both  of  men  and 
women."  Children,  it  will  be  perceived,  are  not  men- 
tioned. The  historian  seems  to  take  special  pains  to  ex- 
clude them,  as  if  he  desires  his  readers  to  note  the  differ- 
ence between  Judaism  and  Christianity,  the  former  being 
the  establishment  of  a  national  institute,  which  was  ke  ot 
up  by  the  ordinary  increase  of  the  population — the  latter 
the  gathering  together  of  individual  servants  of  the  Saviour, 
who  "  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God"  (John  i.  12,  13). 
One  point  more  may  be  alluded  to  :  the  Baptists  sternly 
asserted  the  rights  of  conscience.  All  men  might  believe 
and  act  in  religion  as  they  pleased,  without  the  inteifer- 
ence  of  the  civil  magistrate.  His  duties,  they  said,  were 
confined  to  the  preservation  of  good  order  and  the  pro- 
tection of  property  and  life  ;  God  had  not  given  him  the 


154  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

power  to  regulate  religious  affairs,  nor  authorized  him  to 
impose  any  mode  of  worship,  or  to  punish  such  as  might 
refuse  to  admit  his  usurpation.  I  have  mentioned  these 
principles  before,  but  it  seemed  desirable  to  repeat  the 
statement,  because  the  Baptists  of  the  sixteenth  century- 
have  been  singularly  misrepresented. 

In  some  other  particulars  there  were  also  great  differ- 
ences between  them  and  other  dissidents  from  Rome. 
They  would  not  take  an  oath.  While  they  obeyed  magis- 
trates in  all  things  civil,  they  regarded  the  magistrate's 
office  as  altogether  needless  among  Christians,  who,  they 
said,  would  not  commit  crime,  and  therefoi-e  such  officers 
would  not  be  wanted  among  them  ;  and  besides,  a  magis- 
trate could  not  discharge  his  duties  but  by  force,  which  is 
not  allowable  to  Christ's  servants.  Neither  would  they 
engage  in  war.  They  denounced  it  as  utterly  unlawful. 
The  use  of  carnal  weapons,  whether  for  attack  or  de- 
fence, was  abjured  ;  hence  they  never  resisted  their  per- 
secutors. When  the  oppressions  exercised  by  the  rich 
and  noble  engendered  hatred  of  the  higher  oi-ders,  some 
of  the  Baptists  were  disposed  to  plead  for  a  general 
equality,  or  at  any  rate  for  such  restraint  on  power  and 
wealth  as  would  take  away  the  means  of  doing  mischief. 
Among  themselves,  too,  the  spirit  of  true  brotherhood 
so  prevailed  in  acts  of  sympathy  and  kindness  that  they 
were  regarded  as  advocates  of  the  community  of  goods 
and  opponents  of  separate  personal  property.  On  these 
accounts  they  were  treated  as  enemies  of  civil  society,  fit 
only  to  be  exterminated.  But  though  they  were  more 
scrupulous  than  most  religionists  are  now,  their  very  pe- 
cidiarities  sprang  from  the  love  of  peace.  Such  men 
could  not  be  dangerous  to  the  commonwealth.     All  they 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  155 

asked  was  to  be  let  alone,  that  they  might  serve  God  ac- 
cording to  their  consciences.  And  yet  they  were  hunted 
up  and  down  like  wild  beasts. 

Impartiality  requires  me  to  mention  one  opinion  whicli 
some  of  them  held.  Unable  to  conceive  how  the  Lord 
Jesus  could  be  the  Child  of  the  Virgin  without  partaking 
of  human  depr?.vity,  they  imagined  that,  though  born  of 
Mary,  he  did  not  "take  flesh"  of  his  mother.  Joan 
15oucher  was  burned  alive  in  the  time  of  Edward  VI. 
for  maintaining  this  alleged  heresy.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  trouble  the  reader  with  any  observations  on  it.  It  is 
often  better  to  confess  ignorance  than  to  dogmatize.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say,  that  among  the  Baptists  of  those  days  the 
matter  in  question  was  a  harmless  speculation.  They 
believed  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  "  God  manifest 
in  the  flesh."  That  was  enough.  If  they  did  not  choose 
to  adopt  the  current  modes  of  expression,  they  wei-e  at 
any  rate  sound  at  heart.  We  ought  to  be  very  careful 
how  we  make  a  man  "  an  offender  for  a  word." 

The  Baptists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  generally,  were 
a  goodly,  upright,  honorable  race.  They  hated  no  man, 
but  all  men  hated  them.  And  why.?  Because  they  testi- 
fied against  the  abominations  of  the  times,  and  wished  to 
accomplish  changes  which  would  indeed  have  revolu- 
tionized society,  because  it  was  constructed  on  anti- 
christian  principles,  but  which  were  in  accordance  with 
the  word  of  God.  An  outcry  was  raised  agai.ist  them, 
as  if  they  were  "  the  offscouring  of  all  things,"  and  their 
blood  was  poured  out  like  water.  Even  the  Reformers 
wrote  and  acted  against  them.  The  writers  of  that  age 
searched  out  the  most  degrading  and  insulting  epithets 
that  the  language  afforded,  and  applied  them  with  malig- 


15^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

nant  gratification.  Latimer  speaks  of  the  "pernicious" 
and  "  devilish"  opinions  of  the  Baptists.  Hooper  calls 
those  opinions  "  damnable."  Becon  inveighs  against  the 
"  wicked,"  "  apish  Anabaptists,"  "  foxish  hypocrites,'* 
that  "  damnable  sect,"  "  liars,"  "  bloody  murderers  both 
of  soul  and  body,"  whose  religious  system  he  denounces 
as  a  "  pestiferous  plague,"  with  many  other  foul-mouthed 
expressions  which  I  will  not  copy.  Bullinger  designates 
them  as  "obstinate,"  "rebellious,"  "  brain-sick,"  "  fran- 
tic," "  filthy  knaves."  Zuingli  speaks  of  the  "  pestiferous 
seed  of  their  doctrine,"  their  "  hypocritical  humility," 
their  speech,  "  more  bitter  than  gall."  But  enough  of 
this.  Yet  these  men  could  appeal  to  those  who  wit- 
nessed their  sufferings,  and  boldly  declare,  with  the  axe 
or  the  stake  in  view,  none  venturing  to  contradict,  that 
they  were  not  put  to  death  for  any  evil  deeds,  but  solely 
for  the  sake  of  the  gospel. 

It  has  been  a  common  practice  to  ascribe  to  a  whole 
community  the  follies  or  wrong-doings  of  a  few.  In  the 
controversial  works  of  the  period  now  before  us  we  meet 
with  heaps  upon  heaps  of  representations  respecting  the 
opinions  and  conduct  of  the  Baptists,  which,  if  true  at 
all,  can  only  affect  individuals,  and  ought  not  to  be  im- 
puted to  the  body. 

Notwithstanding  the  deadly  onset  that  was  made  upon 
them  from  all  quarters,  they  spread  and  increased  most 
astonishingly.  Leonard  Bouwens,  an  eminent  Baptist 
minister  in  Holland,  who  died  in  1578,  left  in  writing  a 
list  of  upward  cf  ten  thousand  persons  whom  he  had 
baptized.  Menno  Simon  and  other  laborers  in  the  cause 
introduced  "great  multitudes"  to  the  churches.  The 
spirit  of  reform  must  have  taken  fast  hold  of  the  minds 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 57 

of  the  people,  or  they  would  not  have  embraced  so 
readily  a  system,  the  profession  of  which  was  a  sure 
passport  to  persecution  in  its  most  painful  and  revolting 
forms.  Luther  and  his  coadjutors  opened  the  door  of 
the  temple  of  freedom  to  others,  but  remained  themselves 
in  the  porch.  They  feared  to  penetrate  into  the  interior. 
The  Baptists  passed  by  them,  entered  in,  and  explored 
the  recesses  of  the  hallowed  place.  For  this  they  weip 
reviled  and  oppressed.  Thousands  of  them  fell  in  the 
fight.  But  multitudes  pressed  after  them,  to  be  "  bap- 
tized for  the  dead  ;"  and  each  could  say, 

"  I'll  hail  reproach  and  welcome  shame, 
If  thou  remember  me." 

See  how  the  Lord  blessed  his  faithful  servants.  Alge- 
rius  was  burned  at  Rome  in  the  year  1557.  Thus  he 
writes,  a  short  time  before  his  martyrdom  : 

"  I  will  relate  an  incredible  thing ;  that  I  have  found 
infinite  sweetness  in  the  lion's  bowels.  Who  will  believe 
that  which  I  shall  relate.?  Who  can  believe  it.-*  In  a 
dark  hole  I  have  found  cheerfulness ;  in  a  place  of  bitter- 
ness and  death,  rest  and  hope  of  salvation ;  in  the  abyss 
or  depth  of  hell,  joy.  Where  others  weep,  I  have  found 
laughter ;  where  others  fear,  I  have  found  strength.  Who 
will  ever  believe  that  in  a  state  of  misery  I  have  had 
great  pleasure  ;  that  in  a  lonely  corner  I  have  had  glo- 
rious company  ;  and  in  the  hardest  bonds,  perfect  repose  ? 
all  these  things  (ye,  my  companions  in  Jesus  Christ)  the 
bountiful  hand  of  God  has  granted  me.  Behold !  he 
who  at  first  stood  far  from  me  is  now  with  me  ;  and  him 
whom  I  imperfectly  knew,  I  now  see  clearly ;  him 
whom  I  formerly  saw  afar   ofF,  I   now  contemplate  as 


158  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

present.  He  for  whom  I  longed  now  stretches  forth  his 
hand  ;  he  comforts  me ;  he  fills  me  with  joy ;  he  drives 
bitterness  from  me,  and  renews  my  strength  and  consola- 
tion ;  he  gives  me  health  ;  he  supports  me  ;  he  lielps  mc 
lip;  he  makes  me  strong.  Oh,  how  good  the  Lord  ie, 
who  sutlers  not  his  servants  to  be  tempted  beyond  theii 
ability  !  Oh,  how  light,  pleasant,  and  sweet  is  his  yoke  I 
Is  any  like  unto  God  most  high,  who  supports  and  re- 
freshes the  tempted,  who  heals  the  stricken  and  wounded, 
and  restores  them  altogether.''  None  is  like  unto  him. 
Learn,  my  most  beloved  brethren,  how  gracious  the  Lord 
is  ;  how  faithful  and  compassionate  is  he  who  visits  his 
servants  in  their  trials  ;  he  who  humbles  himself,  and 
condescends  to  stand  by  us  in  our  huts  and  mean  abodes. 
He  grants  us  a  cheerful  mind  and  a  peaceful  heart." 
The  letter  is  dated  "  from  the  most  delightful  pleasure- 
garden,    the   prison    called    Leonia,    the    12th    of  July, 

1557."^ 

You  will  read  with  much  interest  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  letters  addressed  by  a  pious  mother — Soetgen 
Van  den  Houte,  1560 — to  her  children,  "written  hastily" 
— in  prison — "  trembling  with  cold  :" 

"  Love  one  another  without  strife  or  wrangling.  Be 
affectionate  the  one  to  the  other.  The  wisest  must  bear 
with  the  dull,  and  admonish  them  with  kindness.  The 
strong  must  have  compassion  on  the  weak,  and  assist 
him  with  all  his  power  from  love.  .  .  .  Love  your  ene- 
mies, and  pray  for  them  that  speak  evil  of  you  and  make 
you  suffer.  Rather  suffer  wrong  than  do  wrong.  En- 
dure rather  grief  than  put  another  to  grief.  Be  your- 
"^  BapHst  Martyrology,  published  by  the  Hanserd  Knollys  Suciety,  ii. 
114,  122. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 59 

selves  reproached  rather  than  reproach  another.  Be 
rather  belied  than  belie  another.  Let  what  is  yours  be 
taken  from  you  rather  than  take  what  is  another's.  Be 
rather  stricken  than  strike  another.  .  .  .  Oh,  my  dear 
lambs,  mind  that  you  spend  not  your  youthful  days  in 
vanity  and  pride  ;  nor  in  tippling  or  feasting;  but  in  so- 
briety and  humility,  in  the  fear  of  God,  diligent  in  all 
good  works,  that  you  may  be  clothed  with  the  adorning 
of  the  saints  ;  that  God  may  make  you  meet  by  his  grace 
to  enter  into  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  and  that  we  may 
see  you  there  with  joy.  Your  father  and  I  have  shown 
you  the  way,  with  many  others  besides.  Take  the  ex- 
ample of  the  prophets  and  apostles.  Even  Christ  him- 
self went  this  way  ;  and  where  the  Head  has  gone  before, 
there  must  the  members  follow.'" 

The  husband  of  this  good  woman  had  won  the  crown 
of  martyrdom  before  her.  She  followed  soon  after,  and 
joined  her  companion  before  the  throne.  There  "  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs"  praise  God.  "  They  have  washed 
their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."     May  we  meet  them  there  ! 

1  Baptist  Martyrology,  289-301. 


CHAPTER  II. 

German  Baptists — Thomas  Munzer — The  Peasant  War — Michael  Sat- 
ler — Hans  Schaffler — Salzburg  —  Wolfgang  Brand-Hueber  —  The 
Burggraf  of  Alzey — Imperial  Edicts. 

ON  the  loth  of  December,  1520,  Luther  burned  the 
pope's  bull  against  him,  together  with  the  decretals 
and  other  Papal  documents,  without  the  walls  of  Witten- 
burg,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  concourse  of  people. 
By  that  act  he  severed  himself  from  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  proclaimed  the  advent  of  a  new  order  of  things. 
The  Baptists  hailed  it  with  joy,  rightly  judging  that  it 
indicated  a  great  and  favorable  change  of  public  opinion. 
They  availed  themselves  of  the  advantages  thus  offered, 
and  immediately  engaged  in  active  operations  for  the 
spread  of  truth.  Luther  had  freed  himself  from  the 
pope  ;  they  proclaimed  freedom  from  Luther,  and  from 
all  other  human  authority,  as  far  as  religion  was  con- 
cerned, and  called  on  their  fellow-countrymen  everywhere 
to  demand  their  rights. 

This  was  more  than  Luther  intended.  Great  and  good 
man  as  he  was,  he  had  crotchets,  like  some  other  great 
ifien.  He  was  willing  that  others  should  think  for  them- 
selves, so  that  they  thought  as  he  thought.  If  they  did 
not,  he  looked  on  thetn  with   suspicion,  and  they  soon 

160 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  l6l 

found  it  best  to  keep  out  of  his  way.  His  followers  and 
flatterers  regarded  him  with  awe  bordering  on  super- 
stition. Sleidan,  the  historian,  was  struck  with  surprise 
at.  the  boldness  of  Thomas  Munzer,  who,  said  he,  "  not 
only  began  to  preach  against  the  Roman  pontiff"",  but 
against  Luther  himself!"^  Doubtless  that  was  "an 
iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judge."  Reference  to  the 
earthly  judge  in  religious  affairs  was  too  common  in 
those  days. 

Believer's  baptism  and  martyrdom  were  closely  con- 
nected. The  first  witnesses  for  God  in  Germany,  in  the 
Reformation  age,  were  Baptists.  Hans  Koch  and  Leon- 
ard Meyster  were  put  to  death  at  Augsburg  in  the  yeai 
1524. 

You  will  find  in  most  church  histories  doleful  accounts 
of  the  German  Anabaptists.  Storck  and  Stubner,  the 
writers  tell  you,  pretended  to  prophesy,  and  demanded 
submission  on  the  ground  of  their  divine  calling.  They 
advocated  a  wild  millenarianism,  maintaining  that  the 
day  of  God's  vengeance  was  at  hand,  and  that  the  saints 
would  put  down  all  worldly  rule  and  possess  the  earth. 
And  Thomas  Munzer,  they  say,  not  only  held  similar 
sentiments,  but  also  headed  the  insurrection  of  the  peas- 
ants, which  brought  so  much  misery  on  Germany,  and 
ultimately  on  the  poor  peasants  themselves. 

Now,  I  have  no  desire  to  defend  anything  foolish  01 
wi-ong.  Granted  that  the  men  just  spoken  of  were 
visionaries,  and  that  their  conduct  was  in  some  respects 
indefensible  ;  but  let  it  be  further  granted  that  they  were 
not  the  Baptist  body,  and  that  for  their  follies  that  body 
was  by  no  means  responsible.     As  for  the  Peasant  War, 

1  De  Statu  Religionis,  lib.  v.  p.  265.     Ed.  1785. 
U  * 


l62  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

Giesler  justly  remarks  that  "  no  traces  of  Anabaptist 
fanaticism  were  seen"  in  it.^  This  is  honorable  and  im- 
portant. 

But  it  is  necessary  to  repeat  the  observation,  that  our 
accounts  of  these  men  are  mainly  derived  from  their  ene- 
mies. Thomas  Munzer  is  blackened  in  Pasdobaptist 
histories.  You  would  think  him  the  very  incarnation  of 
all  evil.  Yet  what  are  the  facts  ?  Just  these  :  That  he 
was  a  pious,  learned  man,  and  an  eloquent  preacher, 
whom  the  people  followed  amazingly,  and  that  he  was 
driven  from  place  to  place,  because  as  fast  as  he  learned 
the  truth  he  preached  it,  sometimes  to  the  great  annoyance 
of  Luther  and  his  friends,  whose  misconceptions  and 
errors,  as  he  deemed  them,  he  did  not  fail  to  expose.  Let 
us  listen  to  Robert  Robinson  : 

"  He  had  been  a  priest,  but  became  a  disciple  of  Luther, 
and  a  great  favorite  with  the  Reformed.  His  deportment 
was  remarkably  grave,  his  countenance  was  pale,  his 
eyes  rather  sunk  as  if  he  was  absorbed  in  thought,  his 
visage  long,  and  he  wore  his  beard.  His  talent  lay  in 
a  plain  and  easy  method  of  preaching  to  the  country- 
people,  whom  ( it  should  seem  as  an  itinei-ant)  he  taught 
almost  all  through  the  electorate  of  Saxony.  His  air  of 
mortification  won  him  the  hearts  of  the  rustics ;  it  was 
singular  then  for  a  preacher  so  much  as  to  appear  humble. 
When  he  had  finished  his  sermon  in  any  village,  he  used 
to  retire,  either  to  avoid  the  crowd  or  to  devote  himself 
to  meditation  and  prayer.  This  was  a  practice  so  very 
singular  and  uncommon  that  the  people  used  to  throng 
about  the  door,  peep  through  the  crevices,  and  oblige  him, 
sometimes,  to  let  them  in,  though  he  repeatedly  assured 

^  Ecclesiastical  History,  v.  352. 


THE   REFORMATION  PERIOD.  163 

them  that  he  was  nothing,  that  all  he  had  came  from 
above,  and  that  admiration  and  praise  were  due  only  to 
God.  The  more  he  fled  from  applause,  the  more  it  fol- 
lowed him  ;  the  people  called  him  Luther's  curate,  and 
Luther  called  him  his  '  Absalom,'  probably  because  he 
'  stole  the  hearts  of  the  men  of  Israel.'"^ 

The  Peasant  War  was  an  ill-advised,  badly-managed 
t'.ing.  But  the  peasants  had  right  on  their  side.  Their 
manifesto  was  a  plain-spoken,  noble  document.  It  told 
a  sad  tale  of  oppression.  The  historian,  Robertson,  epito- 
mizes it  thus:  "  The  chief  articles  were,  that  they  might 
have  liberty  to  choose  their  own  pastors  ;  that  they  might 
be  freed  from  the  payment  of  all  tithes,  except  that  of 
corn  ;  that  they  might  no  longer  be  considered  as  the 
slaves  or  bondmen  of  their  superiors  ;  that  the  liberty  of 
hunting  and  fishing  might  be  common  ;  that  the  great 
forests  might  not  be  regarded  as  private  property,  but  be 
open  for  the  use  of  all ;  that  they  might  be  delivered  from 
the  unusual  burden  of  taxes  under  which  they  labored  ; 
that  the  administration  of  justice  might  be  rendered  less 
rigorous  and  more  impartial ;  that  the  encroachments  of 
the  nobles  upon  meadows  and  commons  might  be  re- 
strained." "^  The  conclusion  is  admirable.  I  copy  it  from 
Giesler,  who  has  inserted  the  entire  paper :  "  In  the 
twelfth  place,  it  is  our  conclusion  and  final  resolution, 
that  if  one  or  more  of  the  articles  here  set  forth  is  not  in 
agreement  with  the  word  of  God,  we  will  recede  there- 
from, if  it  be  made  plain  to  us  on  scriptural  ground.  Or 
if  an  article  be  now  conceded  to  us,  and  hereafter  it  be 
discovered  to  be  unjust,  from  that  hour  it  shall  be  dead 
*  Ecclesiastical  Researches,  ch.  xiv. 
2  Charles  V.,  book  iv. 


164  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

and  null,  and  have  no  more  force.  Likewise,  if  more 
articles  of  complaint  be  truly  discovered  from  Scripture, 
we  will  also  reserve  the  right  of  resolving  upon  these."  ^ 
It  is  said  that  Munzer  assisted  in  preparing  this  document. 
If  so,  it  does  him  honor.  Whatever  silly  or  extravagant 
opinions  he  fell  into,  he  may  be  excused,  for  in  those  days 
very  few  public  men  escaped  connection  with  some  weak- 
ness or  other.  His  conduct  in  joining  the  insurgents  has 
brought  heavy  censure  upon  him.  But  he  paid  dearly  for 
It.  Taken  prisoner  after  the  battle  in  which  the  peasants 
were  defeated,  or  rather  slaughtered,  for  it  was  no  fight, 
he  was  subjected  to  cruel  tortures,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
times,  and  put  to  death. 

Though  the  Peasant  War  was  not  in  itself  a  Baptist 
affair  at  all,  occasion  was  taken  from  Munzer's  connection 
with  it  to  raise  a  storm  of  indignation  against  the  Bap- 
tists, as  if  they  were  all  rebels.  The  persecution  raged 
fiercely,  and  it  never  wholly  ceased  during  the  periofl. 
Baptists  worshiped  God  and  preached  the  gospel  at  per- 
petual hazard  of  liberty  and  life.  Still  they  held  on 
their  way.  Sometimes  they  met  in  buildings  far  removed 
from  general  observation  ;  sometimes  in  the  woods,  and 
not  unfrequently  long  intervals  passed  between  their 
meetings,  so  hot  was  the  pursuit  after  them.  One  effect 
was  produced  which  proved  advantageous  to  their  cause : 
they  were  "scattered  abroad"  —  eastward,  to  Moravia, 
Hungary,  and  the  adjoining  countries — westward,  to  Hol- 
land.    Everywhere  numerous  churches  sprang  up. 

Sebastian  Franck,  a  voluminous  historian  of  those 
times,  affirn  s  that  "  within  a  few  years  not  less  than  two 
thousand  Baptists  had  testified  their  faith  by  imprison- 
1  Cha7les  V.,  book  v.  347-349. 


THE    REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 65 

ment  or  martyrdom.'"  Let  us  look  at  a  few  of  the 
details. 

JNIichacl  Satlcr  had  been  a  monk.  He  was  converted 
to  God,,  and  became  a  preacher.  He  was  put  to  death  at 
Rottcnburg,  May  36,  1527.  Thus  ran  his  sentence : 
''  That  Michael  Satler  be  delivered  over  to  the  execu- 
tioner, who  shall  bring  him  to  the  place  of  execution  and 
cut  out  his  tongue  ;  he  shall  then  throw  him  upon  a  cart, 
and  twice  tear  his  flesh  with  red-hot  pincers ;  he  shall 
then  be  brought  to  the  city  gate,  and  shall  have  his  flesh 
five  times  torn  in  like  manner."  This  fiendish  sentence 
was  executed,  and  the  body  was  afterward  burned  to 
ashes.  Satler's  wife  and  several  other  females  who  were 
arrested  at  the  same  time  were  drowned.  A  number  of 
brethren  who  shared  the  imprisonment  with  them  were 
beheaded. '^  Rottenburg  was  celebrated  for  such  scenes. 
In  1528,  Leonard  Schoener  was  beheaded  and  burned 
there,  and  shortly  afterward  about  seventy  more.  Schoe- 
ner had  been  six  years  a  barefooted  monk,  but  had  left  the 
convent  through  disgust  at  the  wickedness  of  the  order. 
He  learned  the  tailor's  trade,  and  so  gained  his  livelihood. 
After  his  conversion  he  joined  the  Baptists,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  preaching  the  gospel  and  baptizing 
throughout  Bavaria.^ 

At  Schwatz,  eleven  miles  from  Rottenburg,  Hans 
Sjbhlafter,  who  had  been  a  Romish  priest,  was  beheaded. 
*'  He  was  put  to  the  test  by  cruel  tortures,  and  examined 
by  the  priests  concerning  infant  baptism  ;  but  he  an- 
swei'ed  them  from  the  Divine  Scriptures,  and  showed, 
both  by  argument  and  by  texts  of  Scripture,  that  it  is 
commanded,  and  will  be  found  throughout  the  New  Tes- 
'  Baptist  Martyrology,  i.  49.  "  Ibid.  p.  27.  ^  Ibid.  p.  47. 


t66  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

tament,  that  men  should  first  teach  the  word  of  God,  and 
they  alone  that  hear,  understand,  believe,  and  receive  it 
should  be  baptized.  This  is  the  Christian  baptisn;,  and 
no  rebaptism.  The  Lord  has  nowhere  commanded  chil- 
dren to  be  baptized.  They  are  already  the  Lord's.  So 
long  as  they  are  innocent  and  inoffensive,  they  are  in  no- 
wise to  be  condemned.  They  also  asked  him  on  what 
foundation  the  sect  of  the  Anabaptists  properly  rests.  To 
which  he  answered,  Our  faith,  actions,  and  baptism  rest 
on  nothing  else  than  the  commandment  of  Christ" 
(Matt,  xxviii.  i8,  19;  Mark  xvi.  15).^ 

Leopold  Snyder  was  beheaded  at  Augsburg  in  the 
same  year.  The  sufferings  in  that  city  were  very  severe. 
."  Not  only  wei-e  they  beaten  with  rods,  but  their  backs 
were  branded,  and  one  had  his  tongue  cut  out  for  his  so- 
called  blasphemy.  The  few  who  recanted  were  adjudged 
to  a  yearly  fine,  and  were  forbidden  for  five  years  the 
exercise  of  civil  rights."^ 

Eighteen  persons  were  burned  in  one  day  at  Salzburg. 
Many  more  suffered  in  that  city.  Among  them  was  a 
lovely  young  maiden  of  sixteen,  who,  refusing  to  recant, 
was  taken  in  the  arms  of  the  executioner  to  the  trough 
for  watering  horses,  thrust  under  the  water,  and  there 
held  till  life  vsas  extinct."  "The  Baptists  there  were 
called  Garden-brethren,  from  their  custom  of  meeting  by 
night  in  the  gardens  and  solitary  places  of  the  town,  to 
escape  the  notice  of  their  foes."  * 

Wolfgang  Brand-Hueber  and  Hans  Nidermair,  both 
Baptist  ministers,  with  about  seventy  others,  were  put  to 
death  at  Lintz.  "  As  to  the  said  Wolfgang  Brand-Hue- 
ber, there  are  still  writings  in  the  church  which  show 
>  Baptist  Martyrology,  p.  50.  *  Ibid.  p.  54.  3  Ibid.  p.  57. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 67 

how  faithfully  he  taught  the  Christian  community  ;  like- 
wise, that  obedience  and  submission  should  be  rendered 
to  magistrates  in  all  things  not  contrary  to  God.  He 
held  fast  the  true  baptism  of  Christ,  and  the  supper  of 
the  Lord  ;  rejecting  the  baptism  of  infants,  the  sacra- 
ments [that  is,  the  Romirh  sacraments],  and  other  anti- 
christian  abominations,  as  his  writings  (still  extant) 
sufficiently  declare."^ 

Nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty  persons  suffered  in  vari- 
ous ways  in  the  Palatine  te,  in  the  year  1529.  The  burg- 
graf  of  Alzey  was  particularly  active  on  the  occasion. 
But  his  victims  were  steadfast.  "While  some  were 
being  drowned,  or  about  to  be  led  to  execution,  the  rest 
who  were  to  follow,  and  were  awaiting  death,  sang  until 
the  executioner  came  for  them.  They  remained  alto- 
gether steadfast  in  the  truth  they  had  embraced ;  and 
secure  in  the  faith  they  had  received  from  God,  tliey  stood 
like  valiant  warriors.  By  them  the  nobles  of  this  world 
and  its  princes  were  put  to  shame.  On  some,  whom  they 
would  not  altogether  condemn  to  death,  they  inflicted 
bodily  punishment ;  some  they  deprived  of  their  fingers  ; 
others  they  branded  with  the  cross  on  their  forehead,  and 
inflicted  on  them  many  cruelties ;  so  that  even  the  burg- 
graf  said,  'What  shall  I  do.?  the  more  I  condemn,  the 
more  they  increase.'"^ 

These  persecutions  were  the  fruits  of  royal  and  im- 
perial edicts.  Fejdinand,  king  of  Hungary  and  Bohe- 
mia, issued  an  edict  in  1527,  denouncing  death  to  the 
Baptists.  The  priests  were  commanded  to  read  it  pub- 
licly in  the  churches  four  times  a  year  for  ten  years.  The 
Emperor  Charles  was  equally  embittered  against  them. 

1  Baptist  Martyrology,  i.  103.  ^  Ibid.  1 18. 


1 68  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

The  Edict  of  Worms,  by  which  Luther  was  condemned, 
did  not  meet  the  case,  but  the  deficiency  was  supplied  at 
the  Diet  of  Spires,  in  1529.  B}'  the  edict  in  which  the 
decisions  of  the  diet  were  embodied,  it  was  "  clearly 
ordained  that  all  and  every  Anabaptist,  or  rebaptized  per- 
son, whether  male  or  female,  being  of  ripe  years  and 
understanding,  should  be  deprived  of  life,  and  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  individual  be  put  to  death  by 
fire,  sword,  or  otherwise  ;  and  whenever  found  should  be 
brought  to  justice,  indicted,  and  convicted  ;  and  be  no 
otherwise  judged,  tried,  or  dealt  with,  under  pain  of 
heavy  and  severe  punishment."^ 

At  the  time  of  the  publication  of  this  edict,  a  number 
of  Baptists — "nine  brethren  and  three  sisters" — were  in 
prison  at  Alzey.  "  The  mandate  was  then  read  to  the 
prisoners,  and  as  they  would  not  yield,  they  were,  with- 
out further  trial,  in  fulfillment  of  the  emperor's  edict,  led 
to  execution  ;  the  brethren  by  the  sword,  but  the  sisters 
by  being  drowned  in  the  horse-pond.  While  they  were 
yet  in  confinement,  a  sister  came  to  the  prison  to  comfort 
the  female  prisoners.  She  said  to  them  that  they  should 
valiantly  and  firmly  cleave  to  the  Lord,  and  not  regard 
this  suffering,  for  the  sake  of  the  everlasting  joy  that 
would  follow.  This  visit  becoming  known,  she  also  was 
speedily  apprehended,  and  afterward  burned,  because  she 
had  comforted  and  strengthened  the  other  prisoners."^ 

"But,"  says  Sebastian  Franck,  "the  more  severely 
Hhey  were  punished,  the  more  they  multiplied.  Peradven- 
ture  man}'  were  moved  by  the  steadfastness  with  which 
they  died,  01  perhaps  God  marked  the  endeavors  ot 
rulers  and  tyrants  to  root  out  heresy  with  the  sword."  * 
1  Baptist  Martyrology,  p.  n6.  '  jHfj^  p.  1 1 7.  ^  Ibid.  125. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Persecuting  Tenets  of  the  Reformers — German  Diets — The  Congrega- 
tion at  Steinborn — Leonard  Bernkop — The  Crown  of  Straw — Johan- 
nes Bair — Hans  Pichner — Hans  Breal — Baptists  in  Italy. 

THE  Baptists  continued  to  spread  in  Germany,  not- 
withstanding the  odium  that  was  attached  to  them 
in  consequence  of  the  Munster  business.  They  were 
phmdered,  thrust  into  dungeons,  banished,  numbers  of 
them  beheaded  or  burned  alive,  yet  still  they  made  head 
against  all  opposition,  and  multiplied  everywhere.  It  is 
stated  that  "  between  the  Eifel  mountains  on  the  Rhine 
[in  Westphalia]  and  Moravia,  not  less  than  fifty  churches 
are  said  to  have  been  existing  at  this  period  [about  the 
year  1557],  some  of  them  having  from  five  to  six  hundred 
metnbers.  Fifty  elders  and  ministers  gathered  at  one 
time  at  Strasburg,  from  a  district  of  about  a  hundred 
miles  in  circumference,  to  consult  together  on  the  inter- 
ests of  Christ's  kingdom."^ 

It  is  distressing  to  observe  how  completely  the  Reform- 
ers of  those  days  were  imbued  with  the  persecuting  spirit. 
At  a  diet  held  at  Hombourg,  in  Hesse  Cassel,  in  1536, 
the  opinions  of  many  divines  were  adduced,  sanctioning 
the  punishment  of  the  Baptists  by  the  magistrates.  Some 
'  Baptist  Marty rology,  ii.  125. 


170  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

would  have  them  scourged  ;  some,  branded  ;  some,  ban- 
ished ;  but  most  of  them  held  that  death  shovild  be  the 
infliction,  and  Luther,  Melanchthon,  and  Bucer  were  of 
the  number.  See  how  sophistically  the  last-mentioned 
Reformer  reasoned.  A  three  days'  discussion  was  held 
with  the  Baptists  of  Marburg.  George  Schnabet,  one  of 
their  ministers,  disputed  with  Bucer.  "  The  Hessian 
Church  is  not  the  church  of  Christ,"  said  Schnabet,  "  be- 
cause it  persecutes  the  poor,  and  banishes  them  from  their 
possessions.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  joy  and  righteous- 
ness ;  but  this  church  with  great  zeal  commits  injustice — 
it  persecutes  the  innocent,"  etc.  To  this  Bucer  replied, 
"  The  church  does  not  persecute  ;  it  is  the  magistrates, 
and  they  only  certain  mischievous  Anabaptists.  The 
church  wishes  to  remain  in  peace  ;  but  these  men  despise 
the  church."  .  .  .  "It  is  nowhere  written,"  said  Sclinabet, 
"  that  unbelievers  should  be  put  to  death."  "  Blasphemy 
must  be  punished,"  Bucer  replied.  "  The  disturbance  of 
religion  ought  to  be  forbidden  much  more  than  any  tem- 
poral mischief."  "Unbelievers,"  Schnabet  argued,  "ought 
not  to  be  punished ;  our  enemies  should  be  loved." 
"  When  the  magistrate  punishes  an  enemy,"  said  Bucer, 
"  he  loves  him.     It  is  a  father  punishing  his  child."  ^ 

The  Emperor  Charles  V.  continued  to  evince  his  ma- 
lignity by  procuring  cruel  edicts  at  German  diets.  In 
1544,  at  the  Diet  of  Spires,  when  other  Protestants  were 
treated  with  leniency,  severe  measures  were  adopted 
against  the  Baptists.  At  Augsburg,  in  1551,  extermina- 
tion was  denounced  against  them.  Nor  was  it  a  vain  threat. 
Priests  and  people  united  to  put  into  execution,  and  tre- 
mendous suflerings  followed. 

•  Baptist  Marty rology,  i.  169,  170. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  171 

In  several  instances  brethren  who  had  been  commis- 
woned  to  visit  other  churches  were  discovered  as  they 
passed  through  the  German  territories,  betrayed  to  the 
authorities,  and  died  in  prison  or  were  publicly  executed, 
ft  was  a  dangerous  thing  in  these  days  to  be  a  member 
dF  a  deputation. 

Torture  was  frequently  employed,  in  order  to  wring 
from  the  sufferers  the  names  and  places  of  abode  of  their 
associates,  or  to  force  them,  imdcr  the  pressure  of  anguish, 
to  renounce  the  faith. 

In  the  year  1539,  the  Vienna  police,  aided  by  a  detach- 
ment of  cavalry,  surprised  a  congregation  at  Steinborn, 
and  captured  nearly  all  of  them.  They  were  lodged  in 
the  castle  of  Falkenstein.  After  remaining  in.  confine- 
ment about  five  weeks,  during  which  time  strenuous  efforts 
were  made  by  the  priests  to  persuade  them  to  abjure,  it 
was  notified  to  them  that  the  women  and  children  would 
be  released,  but  that  the  able-bodied  men  would  be  sent 
to  sea.  The  youths,  and  some  that  were  weak  or  sickly, 
were  reduced  to  bondage,  and  given  to  Austrian  noble- 
men. Ninety  men  were  sent  away  under  a  strong  guard, 
bound  two  and  two,  to  proceed  on  foot  to  Trieste,  a 
journey  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles.  "Man  and 
wife  were  separated  from  each  other,  and  children  of 
tender  years  left  behind  ;  which  flesh  and  blood  could  not 
have  borne  but  by  the  power  of  God  and  for  his  sake. 
Sc  deplorable  was  the  separation  that  the  king's  marshal 
and  others  like  him  could  not  refrain  from  tears.  .  .  . 
They  were  led  about  by  his  majesty's  messengers  through 
towns,  villages,  and  the  open  country,  from  one  jurisdic- 
tion to  another.  In  their  journeys  they  were  constrained 
to  suffer  much,  and  various   kinds  of  adversity  and  great 


172  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

affliction,  but  God  always  afforded  them  his  gracious  help, 
and  in  particular  that  every  morning  and  evening,  with- 
out hindrance,  they  could  make  and  present  their  prayer 
to  God,  and  durst,  besides,  without  impediment,  speak 
each  one  to  the  comfort  of  his  brethren.  Tliis  they  re- 
ceived with  great  gratitude  as  a  special  favor  and  gift  of 
God.  By  this  means  the  people  in  many  places  were 
convinced  of  their  innocence  and  piety;  so  that  they  who, 
at  their  first  coming,  regarded  them  as  evil-doers,  felt 
great  compassion  for  them.  To  this,  the  king's  servants 
who  conducted  them  bare  repeated  testimony,  and  told 
them  that  they  should  -ot  pass  through  the  towns  and 
country-places  in  silence,  but  might  make  known  their 
faith  by  singing  or  in  some  other  way.  .  .  .  God  was 
thus  pleased  to  reveal  his  word  and  truth  in  all  places  and 
lands,  to  make  them  known  to  the  people  who  knew  them 
not,  and  to  cause  their  sound  to  be  heard.  As  at  all  times, 
in  a  like  manner,  he  graciously  appoints  means  to  draw 
men  away  from  unrighteousness,  so,  by  these  witnesses 
of  the  faith  and  divine  truth,  who  were  led  about  into  a 
great  number  and  variety  of  places,  amidst  unknown  and 
foreign  tongues,  where  the  truth  was  not  heai'd,  being 
unknown  and  hidden  from  the  people,  were  some  from 
Carniola  and  Italy  led  to  inquire  after  the  truth.  Some 
were  brought  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  truth  who, 
to  this  very  day,  serve  God  with  an  upright  heart.  But 
how  these  captive  brethren,  during  their  journeys  and  in 
many  places,  were  treated,  how  they  were  driven  and 
beaten,  and  with  cords  and  chains  were  bourd  together, 
and  what  in  consequence  they  suffered,  were  too  long 
to  be  narrated.     Yet,  how  great  soever  the  oppression 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 73 

they  endured,  their  hearts  were  always  comforted  by 
God."^ 

When  they  had  l)ccn  in  Trieste  nearly  a  fortnight,  they 
contrived  to  escape  from  the  prison  in  which  they  were 
lodged.  Fifteen  of  them  were  retaken,  but  the  others 
eluded  search,  and  arrived  among  their  brethren  in  safety. 
They  were  "  received  with  joy  and  thanksgiving,  as  a 
gift  sent  by  God."  The  fifteen  were  never  heard  of  any 
more. 

Leonhard  Bernkop  was  burned  at  Salzburg  in  1542. 
"  lie  was  led  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  a  fire  made 
on  one  side  of  him,  so  that  he  was,  as  it  were,  roasted  ; 
but  he  cleaved  fast  to  the  Lord.  He  said  to  the  blood- 
hounds and  the  servants  of  the  executioner,  '  This  side  is 
roasted  enough,  turn  me  round  ;  through  the  power  of 
God,  the  suflering  I  feel  is  but  little,  and  it  is  light  com- 
pared wijh  everlasting  glory.'"* 

Two  young  females  who  had  been  recently  baptized  at 
Bamberg,  were  apprehended,  imprisoned,  and  severely 
tortured.  But  they  did  not  swei-ve  from  the  truth.  When 
they  were  led  out  to  die,  wreaths  of  straw  were  placed  on 
their  heads,  "  by  way  of  contempt  and  mockery."  "  Since 
Christ,"  said  one  of  them  to  the  other,  "wore  a  crown  of 
thorns  for  us,  why  should  we  not,  in  return,  and  for  his 
honor,  wear  this  crown  of  straw?  Our  faithful  God 
will,  instead  of  this,  set  a  beautiful  crown  of  gold  and  a 
glorious  garland  upon  our  heads."  So  they  went  cheer- 
fully to  the  fire.^ 

Johannes  Bail  had  been  in  prison  nearly  twenty  years, 
when  he  wrote  the  following  letter : 

"  Dear  brethren,  I  have  received  the  writing-desk,  the 

'^  Martyrology  \.  \Z^-\C)T^.  ^Ibid.2y^.  ^  Ibid.  Tyd},. 


174  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

account  of  our  worship,  faith,  and  teaching,  and  six 
lights,  or  candles,  and  pens ;  but  the  Bible,  in  particular, 
I  have  not  received,  though  standing  first  in  the  list. 
Now,  this  is  my  prayer,  that,  if  you  have  it,  you  will  for- 
ward it  me ;  for  this  above  all  things  I  wish  to  have,  if  it 
be  according  to  the  will  of  God.  I  suffer  much  for  want 
of  it,  and  have  endured  great  hunger  and  thirst  for  the 
word  of  the  Lord  during  many  long  years.  Of  this  1 
make  my  complaint  to  God  and  his  church,  for  it  is  full 
twenty  years,  save  eight  weeks,  since  the  day  of  my  mis- 
erable imprisonment. 

"  I,  Johannes  Bair,  of  Lichtenfels,  of  all  men  the  most 
miserable  and  most  forsaken,  the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  make  again  this  my  complaint  before  God  and 
his  angels,  and  also  his  servants,  churches,  and  congrega- 
tions. Now,  my  brethren  and  sisters,  the  best  beloved  of 
my  heart  in  the  Lord,  beseech  God  for  me,  that  he  would 
deliver  me  out  of  this  peril  and  great  distress — a  distress 
that  is  unspeakable.  This  God  knows,  and  my  poor  self, 
and  you  likewise  know  it  with  me.  Herewith  be  it  com- 
mended to  God.  Written  at  Bamberg  in  a  dark  hole,  in 
the  year  1548." 

Three  years  afterward  he  slept  in  the  Lord  in  the  prison, 
and  obtained  the  martyr's  crown. ^ 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  diabolical  atrocity.  Hans  Pich- 
ner  was  "  put  to  the  rack,  but  all  their  tortures  were  un- 
availing. Very  vexatious  it  was  to  them  that  they  could 
extort  nothing  from  him.  Several  times  they  stripped 
him,  and  let  him  hang  in  tortures  for  hours  on  the  ropes. 
So  strained  did  he  become,  that  he  could  not  set  a  step, 
nor  stand  upon  his  feet,  nor  bring  his  hand  to  his  mouth 

'  Martyrology,  i.  372. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 75 

to  eat.  Nevertheless  he  could  not  be  turned  aside,  but 
remained  steadfast  in  the  Lord.  Afterward  they  bound 
him  hand  and  foot,  and  kept  him  confined  in  a  dark  prison 
or  dungeon  more  than  half  a  year.  .  .  .  After  this  they 
condemned  him  to  death,  and  led  him  out  to  the  place  of 
execution,  where  he  exhorted  the  people,  who  were  nu- 
merously collected  together,  to  repentance.  He  was  then 
placed  with  his  back  against  a  stake,  and  so  beheaded  ; 
for  they  had  so  dreadfully  tortured  and  stretched  him  that 
he  w^as  unable  to  kneel."  ^ 

Take  another  case.  Hans  Breal  was  apprehended  in 
the  Tyrol  in  the  year  1557.  Having  been  repeatedly 
tortured,  in  the  vain  hope  of  compelling  him  to  betray 
his  brethren,  he  was  at  length  placed  in  "  a  deep,  dark, 
filthy  tower,  where  he  could  neither  see  sun,  moon,  nor 
daylight.  So  that  he  could  not  tell  whether  it  was  night 
or  day  ;  sometimes  he  could  tell  that  it  was  night  by  its 
being  colder  than  before.  The  dungeon  was  moist  and 
damp,  so  that  his  clothes  became  foul  and  rotted  on  his 
body,  and  for  some  time  he  was  obliged  to  sit  naked. 
He  had  nothing  but  a  coarse  blanket  that  had  been  given 
him  ;  this  he  threw  round  his  body,  and  sat  in  misery 
and  darkness.  His  shirt  was  so  much  rotted  as  not  to 
leave  a  single  slip  of  it,  except  the  collar  of  the  neck, 
which  he  hung  on  the  wall.  When  these  children  of 
Pilate  had  him  brought  out  to  see  if  he  would  recant,  the 
brightness  of  the  light  was  so  painful  that  he  was  gLul 
when  they  let  him  go  down  again  into  the  dark  tower. 
.  .  .  Thus  he  lay  in  this  foul  dungeon,  where  worms  and 
vermin  were  his  companions,  for  a  long  time  ;  he  protected 
his  head  with  an  old  hat,  that  from  pity  had  been  thrown 
'  Martyrology,  ii.  59. 


176  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

wO  him.  No  one  had  been  confined  in  this  tower  for  some 
years,  so  that  the  vermin  had  greatly  increased,  and  caused 
him  much  terror  until  he  had  got  used  to  it.  The  worms 
frequently  ate  his  food.  .  .  .  Thus  he  lay  in  this  foul 
tower  the  whole  summer,  until  nearly  Michaelmas  day  in 
the  harvest.  When  they  saw  that  the  frost  began  to  set 
in,  they  brought  him  out  from  thence,  and  led  him  into 
another  prison,  which  could  not  possibly  be  worse.  There 
he  was  obliged  to  stay  for  thirty-seven  weeks,  with  one 
hand  and  one  foot  in  the  stocks,  so  that  he  was  unable  to 
lie  down  or  sit,  and  could  only  stand.  He  also  suffered 
much  mocking  and  ridicule  from  the  ungodly.  .  .  .  At 
length  an  order  was  issued  by  the  council  at  Innspruck, 
which  the  magistrates  brought  to  read  to  him.  The  con- 
tents were  as  follow :  That  since  he  was  so  obdurate,  and 
would  receive  no  instruction,  he  should  be  sent  to  sea,  to 
which  he  must  go  the  following  morning  ;  there  he  would 
find  how  the  obstinate  were  stripped  and  flogged.  But 
Hans  answered  that  he  would  confide  in  the  Lord  his 
God,  who  was  on  the  sea  as  well  as  on  land,  to  help  him 
and  give  him  patience.  He  was  then  released  from  prison, 
and  suffered  to  go  about  the  castle  for  two  days,  that  he 
might  learn  again  to  walk.  This  he  could  not  easily  do, 
so  very  infirm  had  he  become  through  lying  in  prison  and 
in  the  stocks,  fastened  by  locks  and  chains  ;  for  in  this 
state  he  had  lain  two  years  within  five  weeks,  and  had  for 
a  year  and  a  half  never  seen  the  sun,"  ^ 

Hans  was  committed  to  the  charge  of  an  officer,  and 
they  journeyed  toward  the  sea.  On  the  second  day,  while 
/■esting  at  a  tavern,  the  officer  became  drunk,  and  Hans 
i  nproved  the  opportunity  to  effect  his  escape.     He  re- 

1  Martyrology,  ii.  99,  104. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  177 

covered  strength  and  health,  rejoined  his  brethren,  was 
called  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  died  in  peace  in  the  year 

15S3 

Th  IS  God's  servants  suffered  in  Germany.  Theie 
were  Baptists  in  Italy  in  this  period,  some  of  whom  at- 
tained the  honor  of  martyrdom.  Julius  Klampherer,  who 
had  been  a  Romish  priest,  was  drowned  at  Venice  in  1561. 
Fr?nciscus  van  der  Sach,  a  minister,  was  drowned  with 
another  brother  in  the  same  city,  in  1564.  Hans  George, 
Count  of  Grovtenstein,  who  had  fled  to  Germany  some 
years  before,  and  had  returned  to  Italy  in  1566,  in  the 
hope  of  inducing  his  wife  to  share  his  exile,  was  betrayed 
by  some  who  recognized  him,  and  thrown  overboard  on 
the  voyage  to  Venice.  "  By  faith  he  forsook  all  things, 
disregarding  rank,  preferring  rather  to  suffer  affliction 
with  the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  honors  and  re- 
wards of  this  world  among  his  owr  people."^ 

*  Martyrology,  425, 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Baptists  in  Swiixerland — Zuingli — Concessions  of  Bullinger  and  Mesho- 
vius — Disputations  —  Drownings  —  Felix  Mantz  —  Balthazar  Hub- 
meyer — Louis  Hetzer — Emigration  to  Moravia — ^Jacob  Ilutter. 

THE  sketch  which   has  been  already  furnished   de- 
scribes the  position  of  the   Baptists  in   Germany. 
I  will  now  trace  their  history  in  Switzerland. 

Zuingli,  the  excellent  Swiss  Reformer,  was  at  one  time 
on  the  eve  of  becoming  a  Baptist.  But  he  resisted  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  our  principles,  and  became  a  vio- 
lent opposer.  The  government  of  Zurich  adopted  his 
policy.  Zuingli  was  a  good  deal  annoyed  by  the  Bap- 
tists, for  they  not  only  pleaded  for  believer's  baptism,  but 
zealously  maintained  that  none  but  real  Christians  \/ere 
fit  members  of  churches.  The  natm-al  inference  was, 
that  as  spiritual  societies  could  not  be  governed  by  carnal 
men,  the  union  of  Church  and  State  must  be  dissolved, 
and  each  party  attend  to  its  own  affairs :  the  State,  to 
things  temporal ;  the  Church,  to  things  religious.  This 
was  going  too  far  for  Zuingli.  He  repudiated  the  idea 
of  a  spiritual  church,  regarding  it  as  a  sheer  impossibility. 
He  could  not  relinquish  the  notion  that  worldly  power 
and  law  were  requisite  for  the  establishment  of  the  faith. 
Hence  he  concluded  that  tlie  Baptist  theory  must  be 
178 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 79 

treated  as  resistance  to  authority,  and  its  supporters  put 
down  by  the  secular  arm.  Poor  man  !  he  fell  a  victim 
to  his  own  principles.  He  was  slain  on  the  battle-field  of 
Cappel,  while  in  official  attendance,  as  chaplain,  on  the 
Protestant  army,  fighting  against  the  Papists,  October 
nth,  1531. 

It  was  about  the  year  1523  that  the  Baptists  first  ap- 
peared in  Switzerland.  Their  numbers  rapidly  increased. 
The  appeal  to  Scripture  on  behalf  of  their  sentiments 
was  rendered  more  forcible  by  the  innocence  of  thcit 
lives.  Even  Bullinger,  who  was  strongly  prejudiced 
against  them,  was  compelled  to  confess  it.  "  They  had," 
said  he,  "  an  appearance  of  a  spiritual  life  ;  they  were 
excellent  in  character ;  they  sighed  much  ;  they  uttered 
no  falsehoods  ;  they  were  austere  ;  they  spake  nobly  and 
with  excellence,  so  that  they  thereby  acquired  admiration 
and  authority,  or  respect,  with  simple  pious  people.  For 
the  people  said,  '  Let  others  say  what  they  will  of  the 
Dippers,  we  see  in  them  nothing  but  what  is  excellent, 
and  hear  from  them  nothing  else  but  that  we  should 
not  swear  or  do  wrong  to  any  one,  that  every  one  ought 
to  do  what  is  right,  that  every  one  must  live  godly  and 
holy  lives ;  we  see  no  wickedness  in  them.'  Thus  they 
have  deceived  many  people  in  this  land."  Meshovius, 
adverting  to  the  views  of  men  at  that  time  on  this  point, 
w^i  ites  thus :  "  Some,  they  say,  write  what  they  wish  of 
the  Anabaptists,  that  they  are  given  up  to  sedition,  and 
plot  the  destruction  of  the  Christian  commonweal.  But 
how  false  this  is,  is  clearly  manifest  from  their  lives,  ac- 
tions, and  doctrine,  since  they  neither  swear,  nor  blas- 
pheme, nor  seek  their  own  things  ;  but  you  will  see  them 
promote  those  only  which  are  of  Christ,  which  are  con 


l8o  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

formable  to  the  Scriptures ;  and  will  any  one  say  that 
these  are  not  true,  nor  especially  worthy  of  a  Christian 
man  ?"  ^ 

Public  disputations  were  much  in  fashion  at  that  time 
in  Switzerland.  They  have  rarely  proved  of  any  real 
service  to  the  cause  of  truth,  since  it  is  obvious  that  the 
man  who  had  the  most  fluent  tongue,  the  readiest  mem- 
ory, the  keenest  wit,  and  the  greatest  amount  of  self- 
possession  was  most  likely  to  prevail,  whether  he  was 
attached  to  the  right  or  the  wrong  side.  Nor  vs^as  it 
likely  that  either  party  would  acknowledge  defeat.  Per- 
haps the  only  benefit  that  resulted  from  them  was,  that 
many  persons  had  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  truth 
who  would  not  otherwise  have  enjoyed  it,  and  in  some 
instances  they  were  led  to  further  inquiry,  which  issued 
in  their  joining  the  Reformers. 

Three  disputations  were  held  at  Zurich  in  the  year 
1525.  In  all  of  them,  according  to  their  adversaries,  the 
Baptists  were  worsted,  notwithstanding  which  they  reso- 
lutely retained  their  sentiments,  and  declared  themselves 
ready  to  seal  them  with  their  blood.  But  the  magistracy 
did  not  rely  on  arguments.  They  issued  an  edict,  pro- 
hibiting believer's  baptism,  enjoining  the  baptism  of  chil- 
dren, and  threatening  that  the  disobedient  should  be  dealt 
with  severely.  And  so  they  were.  Some  were  im- 
prisoned, some  were  banished.  Still  they  persevered. 
Whereupon,  in  1526,  another  edict  was  issued,  ordering 
that  if  any  baptized  others,  or  submitted  to  baptism — re- 
baptism  they  called  it — they  should  be  "  drowned  without 
mercy."  *  Zuingli,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  approved  this  in- 
famous enactment.  It  was  no  vain  threat.  Felix  Mantz 
•  Quoted  in  Martyrology,  i,  7,  8.  *  Ibid.  i.  121. 


THE    REFORMATION  PERIOD.  l8l 

was  drowned  at  Zurich  in  1527.  Jacob  Falk  and  Heine 
Reyman  were  drowned  in  1528.  These  three  were  min- 
isters of  the  gospel.  Anneken  of  Friburg,  a  Christian 
female,  was  drowned  at  that  place  in  1529,  and  her  body 
was  afterward  burned.  Many  others  suffered,  whose 
names  are  not  recorded.  They  did  not  inflict  capital 
punishment  at  Basle,  where  the  Baptists  abounded,  but 
they  scourged  them,  threw  them  into  dungeons,  or  ban- 
ished them,  hoping  to  wear  them  out  by  suffering.  The 
great  Erasmus  resided  there  at  that  time.  He  bore  hon- 
orable testimony  on  behalf  of  the  sufferers.  "  The  Ana- 
baptists," said  he,  "  although  they  everywhere  abound  in 
great  numbers,  have  nowhere  obtained  the  churches  for 
their  use.  They  are  to  be  commended  above  all  others 
for  the  innocence  of  their  lives,  but  are  oppressed  by 
other  sects,  as  well  as  by  the  orthodox,"  that  is.  Catholics.^ 
Such  were  the  men,  according  to  an  opponent,  whom 
Protestants  as  well  as  Papists  sought  to  exterminate.  It 
is  gratifying  to  know  that,  though  they  were  treated  so 
shamefully,  their  characters  would  endure  the  scrutiny  of 
keen-eyed  observers. 

I  mentioned  Felix  Mantz.  He  was  a  native  of  Zurich, 
and  had  received  a  liberal  education.  Having  early 
adopted  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  he  became  an 
intimate  friend  of  Zuingli  and  other  Swiss  Reformers. 
But  in  the  year  1522  he  began  to  doubt  the  scriptural 
authority  of  infant  baptism,  and  of  the  church  constitu- 
tion which  then  existed  at  Zurich,  and  suffered  imprison- 
ment in  consequence.  After  this  he  preached  in  the  fields 
and  woods,  whither  the  people  flocked  in  crowds  to  heal 
him,  and  there  he  baptized  those  who  professed  faith. 

1  Letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Toulouse,  Ibid.  i.  165. 
16 


1 82  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

For  this  the  Zurich  magistrates  denounced  him  as  a  rebel, 
and  about  the  close  of  1526  he  was  apprehended  and 
lodged  in  the  tower  of  Wellenberg.  On  the  5th  of 
January,  1527,  he  was  drowned.  "As  he  came  down 
from  the  Wellenberg  to  the  fish-market,"  says  Bullinger, 
"and  was  led  through  the  shambles  to  the  boat,  he 
praised  God  that  he  was  about  to  die  for  his  truth.  For 
Anabaptism  was  right,  and  founded  on  the  word  of  God, 
and  Christ  had  foretold  that  his  followers  would  suffer 
for  the  truth's  sake.  And  the  like  discourse  he  urged 
much,  contradicting  the  preacher  who  attended  him.  On 
the  way  his  mother  and  brother  came  to  him,  and  ex- 
horted him  to  be  steadfast ;  and  he  persevered  in  his 
folly,  even  to  the  end.  .  When  he  was  bound  upon  the 
hurdle,  and  was  about  to  be  thrown  into  the  stream  by 
the  executioner,  he  sang  with  a  loud  voice :  '  In  manus 
tuas,  Domine,  commendo  spiritum  meum.'  ('  Into  thine 
hands,  O .  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit.')  And  herewith 
was  he  drawn  into  the  water  by  the  executioner,  and 
drowned." 

"  It  is  reported  here,"  says  Capito,  writing  to  Zuingli 
from  Strasburg,  on  the  27th  of  January,  1527,  "that  your 
Felix  Mantz  hath  suffered  punishment,  and  died  glori- 
ously ;  by  which  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety,  which  you 
sustain,  is  weighed  down  exceedingly."  ^  No  wonder. 
Persecution  will  "weigh  down"  any  cause.  And  Prot^ 
estant  persecution  is  the  most  hateful  of  all. 

Balthazar  Hubmeyer  requires  a  more  lengthened  no- 
tice. This  eminent  man  was  a  Bavarian,  born  at  Fried- 
burg,  about  the  year  1480.  He  studied  in  the  high  school 
of  that  city,  intending  to  become  a  physician.     But  he 

1  Martyrology,  i.  12-16. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  183 

exchanged  medicine  for  theology,  and  in  151 2,  being  al- 
ready noted  for  learning  and  eloquence,  he  was  appointed 
professor  of  divinity  and  principal  preacher  at  Ingolstadt, 
where  he  labored  between  three  and  four  years.  In  15 16 
he  removed  to  Ratisbon,  and  preached  in  the  cathedral 
to  immense  throngs.  His  mistaken  zeal  was  directed 
against  the  Jews,  who  were  driven  from  the  city,  and 
their  synagogue  pulled  down ;  on  its  site  was  built  a 
chapel  dedicated  to  the  Virgin,  and  a  wonder-working 
image  placed  over  the  door,  to  which  vast  numbers  re- 
paired in  pilgrimage  from  the  places  adjacent.  So  blind 
was  Hubmeyer  at  that  time. 

The  blindness  was  not  of  long  duration.  The  report 
of  Luther's  movements  and  of  Zuingli's  preaching  at 
Einsidlen  led  him  to  inquiry,  and  the  novelties  of  Rome 
were  soon  abandoned.  Before  he  left  Ratisbon  he  had 
made  considerable  progress  in  practical  reformation.  He 
had  translated  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  into  German.  He 
celebrated  service  in  that  language  instead  of  Latin.  He 
administered  the  Lord's  supper  in  both  kinds.  He  ad- 
monished the  people  to  pray  no  more  to  the  saints,  and 
he  destroyed  images. 

The  next  three  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  Wald- 
shut,  a  town  in  Baden,  where  he  preached  with  great 
success.  There  also  his  religious  views  became  matured, 
and  he  fully  embraced  Protestantism.  In  1522  he  re- 
turned to  Ratisbon,  and  continued  there  a  year,  propa- 
gating the  principles  of  the  Reformation.  When  he  re- 
sumed his  residence  at  Waldshut  he  formed  an  acquaint- 
ance v/ith  the  Swiss  Reformers,  particularly  Zuingli  and 
Ecolampadius,  and  enjoyed  frequent  opportunities  of  in- 
tercourse with  them.     He  assisted  in  conducting  the  great 


184  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

disputation  with  the  Papists  at  Zurich  in  the  autumn  of 
1523.  A  visit  to  St.  Gall  was  attended  by  a  wondrous 
manifestation  of  blessing.  He  preached  the  word  "■  in 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power."  His  labors 
at  Waldshut  were  so  successful  that  the  other  ministers 
yielded  to  the  force  of  truth,  and  Romanism  was  aban- 
doned. But  Austrian  influence  was  predominant  in  Baden, 
so  that  Hubmeyer  soon  found  himself  in  a  perilous  po- 
sition, md  was  compelled  to  seek  concealment.  After 
much  suffering  he  repaired  to  Zurich,  hoping  to  enjoy 
rest  and  refuge  there. 

But  Zuingli  was  not  now  Hubmeyer's  friend.  Hub- 
meyer's  researches  had  issued  in  the  discovery  that  infant 
baptism  is  only  a  human  tradition.  He  had  communi- 
cated his  thoughts  to  Zuingli  and  Ecolampadius,  who 
were  also  in  a  doubting  state  of  mind  on  that  subject,  and 
had  sought  their  assistance.  They  remained  Psedobap- 
tists,  while  he,  following  his  convictions,  took  the  final 
step  by  which  he  was  utterly  estranged  from  his  former 
brethren.  He  was  baptized,  with  one  hundred  and  ten 
others^  in  a  village  not  far  from  Waldshut,  by  William 
Roubli,  a  Swiss  Baptist.  He  himself  baptized  three 
hundred  persons  in  the  course  of  the  next  few  months. 
A  work  on  baptism,  which  he  published  about  the  same 
time,  received  a  "virulent  and  violent"  reply  from  Zuingli. 
"I  believe  and  know,"  Hubmeyer  said,  "that  Christen- 
dom shall  not  receive  its  rising  aright,  unless  baptism  and 
the  Lord's  supper  are  brought  to  their  original  purity." 
Those  were  tru^'hful  words. 

"Abort  July,  1525,  Hubmeyer  entered  Zurich,  and 
sought  a  refuge  at  the  Green  Shield  Hotel,  with  a  few 
friends  and  faithful  followers.      His  coming  was  soon 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 85 

known  among  his  fellow-bretlircn,  and  soon  also  to  the 
Council  of  Zurich.  He  was  sought  out,  and  immured 
in  the  cells  of  Lne  court-house.  For  many  days  and 
weeks  Zuir^ii  and  his  old  associates  endeavored  to  shake 
his  adhesion  to  the  truth.  At  last  the  torture  was  ap- 
plied. Protestant  historians  say  a  promise  of  recantation 
was  willingly  given  and  written  with  his  own  hand. 
Alas !  how  willingly !  the  pains  of  the  rack  were  the 
sharp  and  effectual  arguments.  On  the  22d  of  December 
he  is  led  to  the  minster,  and  placed  at  a  desk  facing  that 
from  which  Zuingli  long  and  vehemently  declaims  against 
the  heresies  his  friend  is  there  come  to  confess.  The  ser- 
mon is  past,  and  every  eye  turns  to  the  rising  form  of  the 
sick  Balthazar.  Though  not  old,  his  trials  have  told  on 
his  robust  frame ;  and  with  a  quivering  voice  he  begins 
to  read  from  the  paper  of  recantation  before  him.  As 
his  articulation  becomes  distinct,  he  is  heard  to  affirm 
that  infant  baptism  is  without  the  command  of  Christ. 
As  the  words  continue  to  flow,  and  add  certainty  to  the 
incredulous  ears  of  the  crowd  in  the  thronged  cathedral, 
murmurs  float  ominously  in  the  resounding  roof,  increas- 
ing by  degrees  to  audible  expressions  of  approbation  or 
of  horror.  Zuingli's  voice  rises  above  all.  He  quiets 
the  coming  storm,  and  Hubmeyer  is  rapidly  conveyed  to 
his  cell  in  the  Wellenberg. 

"  Redoubled  efforts  were  afterward  made  to  recall  the 
mischief  that  had  been  done.  Probably  renewed  tortures 
were  applied  or  threatened ;  for  in  a  few  months  the  suf- 
feier  is  said  to  have  made  a  public  recantation  both  at 
Zurich  and  St.  Gall  ;  but  with  so  little  satisfoction  to  his 
persecutors  that,  although  released  from  prison,  he  was 
kept  in  the  town  under  strict  surveillance.  About  the 
ifi  * 


1 86  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

middle  of  the  year  1526,  hy  the  aid  of  distant  fciends,  he 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  Zurich,  and  after  preaching 
at  Constance  for  a  short  time,  he  journeyed  to  Moravia, 
passing  through  Augsburg  on  his  way.  There  he  pro- 
claimed the  gosjoel  freely,  and  in  all  the  region  round 
about,  baptizing  many,  and  forming  churches  of  Christ 
after  his  word. 

"  In  the  year  1528  he  was  arrested,  probably  at  Briinn, 
where  he  was  teacher  of  the  church,  at  the  command  of 
King  Ferdinand,  and  sent  to  Vienna.  After  some  days 
he  was  thrown  into  the  dungeons  of  the  castle  of  Grit- 
senstein.  At  his  own  request  he  was  visited  by  Dr.  Fa- 
ber,  of  Gran,  in  Hungary,  who  had  been  in  former  days 
his  friend.  Their  interviews,  at  which  two  other  learned 
men  assisted,  lasted  the  greater  part  of  three  days.  The 
substance  of  their  discussions  Faber  afterward  published, 
and  hints  that  on  several  points  Hubmeyer  yielded  to  the 
cogency  of  his  arguments.  A  written  exposition  of  his 
views  was  afterward  sent  to  King  Ferdinand  by  Hub- 
meyer ;  but  no  material  change  in  them  could  have  taken 
place,  since  he  was  immediately  sentenced  to  death.  He 
steadfastly  went  to  the  scaffold,  and  on  the  loth  of  March, 
1528,  from  the  midst  of  burning  flames  and  embers,  his 
spirit  ascended  to  that  region  where  those  that  have  come 
out  of  great  tribulation  suffer  and  weep  no  more.  The 
partner  of  his  life  was  also  partner  of  his  sufferings ;  im- 
prisoned with  him,  she,  too,  was  led  to  Vienna,  and  in 
Ihe  river  Danube  found  a  watery  grave."  ^ 

Hubmeyer  was  a  learned  man.  He  published  several 
valuable  works,  and  has  the  honor  of  being  placed  in  the 

1  Martyrology,  \.  61-75. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  187 

Romish  Prohibitory  Index,  in  the  first  class  of  proscribed 
authors. 

Louis  Hetzer,  another  Baptist  minister,  was  beheaded 
at  Constance,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1529.  He  also 
had  been  on  intimate  terms  with  Zuingli,  Ecolampadius, 
and  their  associates,  and  was  highly  esteemed  by  them, 
till  he  became  a  Baptist.  In  conjunction  with  John  Denk, 
he  translated  the  Prophets  from  the  Hebrew.  Many  other 
books  were  published  by  him.  John  Zwick,  who  was 
present  at  his  death,  said,  "A  more  glorious  and  manful 
death  was  never  seen  at  Constance.  Very  many  of  the 
opposite  party  who  were  present  thought  that  he  would 
have  said  something  on  account  of  our  doctrine  and 
against  the  preachers ;  but  not  a  word.  We  were  all 
with  him  to  his  end  ;  and  may  the  Almighty,  the  eternal 
God,  grant  to  me  and  to  the  servants  of  his  word  the  like 
mercy,  in  the  day  when  he  shall  call  us  home  !"  Thomas 
Blaurer,  another  witness,  observed  :  "  No  one  has  with  so 
much  charity,  so  courageously,  or  so  gloriously  laid  down 
his  life  for  Anabaptism,  as  Hetzer.  He  was  like  one  who 
spake  with  God  and  died."  ^  Slanderous  reports  respect- 
ing him,  affecting  both  his  morals  and  his  religious  opinions, 
were  propagated  after  his  death  ;  *  but  they  were  the  in- 
ventions of  the  enemy.  "  He  was  condemned,"  says  the 
Chronicle  of  the  Moravian  brethren,  "  for  the  sake  of  di- 
vine truth," 

I  cannot  give  any  statistics.  The  Baptists  of  Switzer- 
land were  very  numerous,  not  only  in  Zurich,  but  also  in 

'  Marty  rology,  i.  97-101. 

*  These  calumnies  are  repeated  in  the  North  British  Revieiu  for  May, 
1859,  Art.  "  Socinianism."  The  writer  ought  to  have  known  that  they 
were  not  published  till  after  Hetzer's  death. 


l88  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Berne,  and  in  the  Valtelline.  They  were  compelled  to 
meet  in  secret,  in  woods,  and  unfrequented  places,  or 
under  cover  of  the  night.  No  continuous  records  ould 
be  kept.  Probably  their  church  organizations  were  at 
that  time  very  imperfect.  It  was  not  till  a  more  advanced 
period  of  their  history  that  they  were  enabled  to  secure 
the  full  benefits  of  orderly  arrangements.  But  they  did 
what  they  could.  They  obeyed  the  will  of  Christ  as  far 
as  they  had  opportunity.  Other  Reformers  opposed  and 
even  calumniated  them.  But  they  were  a  God-fearing, 
peaceable,  upright,  and  holy  people. 

The  persecution  was  so  fierce  in  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land that  there  seemed  to  be  no  safety  but  in  emigration. 
In  the  year  1530  many  thousands  of  Baptists,  inhabitants 
of  the  Tyrol,  Switzerland,  Austria,  Styria,  and  Bavaria, 
emigrated  under  the  leadership  of  Jacob  Hutter,  and  set- 
tled in  Moravia.  They  bought  farms,  erected  places  of 
worship,  and  enjoyed  for  a  time  great  prosperity,  spiritu- 
ally and  temporally.  Many  other  exiles  joined  them,  so 
that  their  numbers  were  continually  increased.  But  in 
1535,  Ferdinand,  king  of  Bohemia,  ordered  their  expulsion, 
and  sent  a  military  force  to  carry  the  order  into  effect. 
Their  property  was  seized,  and  all  the  indulgence  they 
could  obtain  was  liberty  to  carry  away  their  movables. 
They  withdrew  into  the  forests,  and  there  lived  as  they 
could,  worshiped  God,  and  possessed  their  souls  in  pa- 
tience. Hutter  exhorted  and  comforted  them.  "  Be  ye 
thankful  unto  God,"  he  said,  "  that  ye  are  counted  wprthy 
to  suffer  persecutions  and  cruel  exile  for  his  name. 
These  are  the  lewards  of  the  elect  in  the  prison-house  of 
this  world,  the  proofs  of  your  heavenly  Father's  approba- 
tion.    Thus  did  his  people  Israel  suffer  in  Egypt,  in  the 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 89 

desert,  and  in  Babylon.  Thus  have  apostles  and  all  the 
followers  of  the  Lamb,  some  in  prisons,  in  exile,  and  in 
persecutions,  some  in  torments,  in  sutierings,  and  in  mar- 
tyrdoms, enjoyed  the  favor  of  their  Loi^d,  and  have  passed 
the  more  quickly  to  the  paradise  above.  Sadness  be  far 
from  you  ;  put  aside  all  grief  and  sorrow ;  reflect  how 
great  the  rewards  awaiting  you  for  the  afflictions  ye  now 
endure." 

Jacob  Hutter's  letter  to  the  marshal  of  Moravia,  written 
in  the  name  of  the  brethren,  is  worthy  of  an  imperishable 
record.  I  will  copy  it  entire,  to  show  what  manner  of 
men  the  Baptists  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  : 

"  We  brethren — who  love  God  and  his  word,  the  true 
witnesses  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  banished  from  many 
countries  for  the  name  of  God  and  for  the  cause  of  divine 
truth,  and  have  hither  come  to  the  land  of  Moravia,  hav- 
ing assembled  together  and  abode  under  your  jurisdiction, 
through  the  favor  and  protection  of  the  Most  High  God, 
to  whom  alone  be  praise,  honor,  and  laud  for  ever :  we 
beg  you  to  know,'  honored  ruler  of  Moravia,  that  your 
officers  have  come  unto  us,  and  have  delivered  your  mes- 
sage and  command,  as  indeed  is  well  known  to  you. 
Already  have  we  given  a  verbal  answer,  and  now  we  re- 
ply in  writing :  viz.,  that  we  have  forsaken  the  world,  an 
unholy  life,  and  all  iniquity.  We  believe  in  Almighty 
God,  and  in  his  Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  will 
protect  us  henceforth  and  for  ever  in  every  peril,  and  to 
whom  we  have  devoted  our  entire  selves,  our  life,  and  all 
that  we  possess,  to  keep  his  commandments,  and  to  for- 
sake all  unrighteousness  and  sin.  Therefore  we  are  per- 
secuted and  despised  by  the  whole  world,  and  robbed  of 
all   our  property,  as   was   done   aforetime   to  the   holy 


X(p  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

prophets,  and  even  to  Christ  himself.  By  King  Ferdi 
nand,  the  prince  of  darkness,  that  cruel  tyrant  and  enemy 
of  divine  truth  and  righteousness,  many  of  our  brethren 
have  been  slaughtered  and  put  to  death  without  mercy, 
our  property  seized,  our  fields  and  homes  laid  waste,  our- 
selves driven  into  exile,  and  most  fearfully  persecuted. 

"  After  these  things  we  came  into  Moravia,  and  here, 
for  some  time,  have  dwelt  in  quietness  and  tranquillity, 
under  thy  protection.  We  have  injured  no  one,  we  have 
occupied  ourselves  in  heavy  toil,  which  all  men  can 
testify.  Notwithstanding,  with  thy  permission,  we  are 
driven  by  force  from  our  possessions  and  our  homes. 
We  are  now  in  the  desert,  in  woods,  and  under  the  open 
canopy  of  heaven  ;  but  this  we  patiently  endure,  and 
praise  God  that  we  are  counter',  vvorthy  to  suffer  for  his 
name.  Yet  for  your  sakes  we  grieve  that  you  should 
thus  wickedly  deal  with  the  children  of  God.  The  right- 
eous are  called  to  suffer  ;  but  alas  !  woe,  woe  to  all  those 
who  without  reason  persecute  us  for  the  cause  of  divine 
truth,  and  inflict  upon  us  so  many  and  so  great  injuries, 
and  drive  us  from  them  as  dogs  and  brute  beasts.  Their 
destruction,  punishment,  and  condemnation  draw  near, 
and  will  come  upon  them  in  terror  and  dismay,  both  in 
this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come.  For  God  will  require 
at  their  hands  the  innocent  blood  which  they  have  shed, 
and  will  terribly  vindicate  his  saints  according  to  the  words 
of  the  prophets. 

"  And  now  that  you  have  with  violence  bidden  us 
forthwith  to  depart  into  exile,  let  this  be  our  answer.  We 
know  not  any  place  where  we  may  securely  live  ;  nor  can 
we  any  longer  dare  here  to  lemain  for  hunger  and  fear. 
If  we  turn  to  the  territories  of  this  or   that  sovereign, 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  19! 

everywhere  we  find  an  enemy.  If  we  go  forward,  we 
fall  into  the  jaws  of  tyrants  and  robbers,  like  sheep  be- 
fore the  ravening  wolf  and  the  raging  lion.  With  us  are 
many  widows,  and  babes  in  their  cradles,  whose  parents 
that  most  cruel  tyrant  and  enemy  of  divine  righteousness, 
Ferdinand,  gave  to  the  slaughter,  and  whose  property  he 
seized.  These  widows,  and  orphans,  and  sick  children, 
committed  to  our  charge  by  God,  and  whom  the  Al- 
mighty hath  commanded  us  to  feed,  to  clothe,  to  cherish, 
and  to  supply  all  their  need,  who  cannot  journey  with  us, 
nor,  unless  otherwise  provided  for,  can  long  live — these  we 
dare  not  abandon.  We  may  not  overthrow  God's  law  to 
observe  man's  law,  although  it  cost  gold,  and  body,  and 
life.  On  their  account  we  cannot  depart ;  but  rather  than 
they  should  suffer  injury  we  will  endure  any  extremity, 
even  to  the  shedding  of  our  blood.  Besides,  here  we  have 
houses  and  farms,  the  property  that  we  have  gained  by  the 
sweat  of  our  brow,  which  in  the  sight  of  God  and  men 
are  our  just  possession  :  to  sell  them  we  need  time  and 
delay.  Of  this  property  we  have  urgent  need  in  order 
to  support  our  wives,  widows,  orphans,  and  children,  of 
whom  we  have  a  great  number,  lest  they  die  of  hunger. 
Now  we  lie  in  the  broad  forest,  and,  if  God  will,  without 
hurt.  Let  but  our  own  be  restored  to  us,  and  we  will 
live  as  we  have  hitherto  done,  in  peace  and  tranquillity. 
We  desire  to  molest  no  one,  nor  to  prejudice  our  foes, 
not  even  Ferdinand  the  king.  Our  manner  of  life,  our 
customs,  and  conversation  are  known  everywhere  to  all. 
Rather  than  wrong  any  man  of  a  single  penny,  we  would 
suffer  the  loss  of  a  hundred  gulden  (worth  twenty  pence 
sterling  each),  and  sooner  than  strike  our  enemy  with  the 
hand,  much  less  with  sword,  or  spear,  or  halbert,  as  the 


192  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

world  docs,  we  would  die  and  surrender  life.  We  carry 
no  weapon,  neither  spear  nor  gun,  as  is  clear  as  the  open 
day  ;  and  they  who  say  that  we  have  gone  forth  by  thou- 
sands to  fight,  they  lie,  and  impiously  traduce  us  to  our 
rulers.  We  complain  of  this  injury  before  God  and  man, 
and  grieve  that  the  number  of  the  virtuous  is  so  small. 
We  would  that  all  the  world  were  as  we  are,  and  that  we 
could  bring  and  convert  all  men  to  the  same  belief;  then 
should  all  war  and  unrighteousness  have  an  end. 

"  We  answer  further :  that  if  driven  from  this  land, 
there  remains  no  refuge  for  us,  unless  God  shall  show  us 
some  special  place  whither  to  flee.  We  cannot  go.  This 
land,  and  all  that  therein  is,  belongeth  to  God  of  heaven  : 
and  if  we  were  to  give  a  promise  to  depart,  perhaps  we 
should  not  be  able  to  keep  it ;  for  we  are  in  the  hand  of 
God,  who  does  with  us  what  he  will.  By  him  we  were 
brought  hither,  and  peradventure  he  would  have  us  here 
and  not  elsewhere  to  dwell,  to  try  our  faith  and  our  con- 
stancy by  persecutions  and  adversity.  But  if  it  should 
appear  to  be  his  will  that  we  depart  hence,  since  we  are 
persecuted  and  driven  away,  then  will  we  even  without 
your  command,  not  tardily  but  with  alacrity,  go  whither 
God  shall  send  us.  Day  and  night  we  pray  unto  him 
that  he  will  guide  our  steps  to  the  place  where  he  would 
have  us  dwell.  We  cannot  and  dare  not  withstand  his 
holy  will ;  nor  is  it  possible  for  you,  however  much  you 
may  strive.  Grant  us  but  a  brief  space  ;  peradventure 
our  heavenly  Father  will  make  known  to  us  his  will, 
whether  we  are  here  to  remain,  or  whether  we  must  go. 
If  this  be  done,  you  shall  see  that  no  difficulty,  however 
great  it  may  be,  shall  deter  us  from  the  faith. 

"Woe,  woe!  unto  you,  O  ye  Moravian  rulers,  who 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  1 93 

have  sworn  to  that  cruel  tyrant  and  enemy  of  God's  truth, 
Ferdinand,  to  drive  avvuy  his  pious  and  faithfid  servants. 
Woe !  we  say  unto  you,  who  fear  more  that  frail  and 
mortal  man  than  the  living,  omnipotent,  and  eternal  God, 
and  chase  from  you,  suddenly  and  inhumanly,  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  the  afflicted  widow,  the  desolate  orphans, 
and  scatter  them  abroad.  Not  with  impunity  will  ye  do 
this ;  your  oaths  will  not  excuse  you,  or  afford  you  any 
subterfuge.  The  same  punishment  and  torments  that 
Pilate  endured  will  overtake  you,  who,  unwilling  to  cru- 
cify the  Lord,  yet  from  fear  of  Caisar  adjudged  him  to 
death.  God,  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet,  proclaims  that 
he  will  fearfully  and  terribly  avenge  the  shedding  of  in- 
nocent blood,  and  will  not  pass  by  such  as  fear  not  to  pol- 
lute and  contaminate  their  hands  therewith.  Therefore 
great  slaughter,  much  misery  and  anguish,  sorrow  and 
adversity,  yea,  everlasting  groanin^^,  pain  and  torment, 
are  daily  appointed  you.  The  Most  High  will  lift  his 
hand  against  you,  now  and  eternally.  This  we  announce 
to  you  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  for  verily 
it  will  not  tarry,  and  shortly  ye  shall  see  that  we  have 
told  you  nothing  but  the  truth  of  God,  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  are  witnesses  against  you,  and 
against  all  who  set  at  naught  his  commandments.  We 
beseech  you  to  forsake  iniquity,  and  to  turn  to  the  living 
God  with  weeping  and  lamentation,  that  you  may  escape 
all  these  woes. 

"•  We  earnestly  entreat  you,  submissively,  and  with 
prayers,  that  you  take  in  good  part  all  these  our  words. 
For  we  testify  and  speak  what  we  know,  and  have  learnt 
to  be  true  in  the  sight  of  God.  We  speak  from  a  pure 
mind  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  and  from  that  true 
17 


194  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Christian  affection  which  we  follow  after  before  God  and 
men.     Farewell."  ^ 

The  oppressor  was  melted  for  once.  The  order  was 
recalled,  and  the  Baptists  enjoyed  peace  and  freedom  for 
some  time  longer.  But  in  1547  their  expulsion  was  ef- 
fected with  indescribable  misery  and  loss. 

^  Martyrology,  i,  149-153. 


CHAPTER  V. 


The   Netherlands — Sicke  Snyder — Furious  Edict — The  Inquisition- 
Severities  of  Philip  II. — Torture — Lysken — Gerrit  Hase-poot — Joris 
Wippe — Private  Executions — Horrid    Rackings. 

IN  the  year  1525  many  of  the  Baptists  took  refuge  in 
the  Netherlands,  hoping  to  be  able  to  serve  God  there 
in  quietness.  They  might  have  done  so,  perhaps,  if  they 
could  have  refrained  from  preaching  the  gospel,  and  had 
forborne  to  propagate  their  distinctive  tenets.  But  that 
was  impossible.  In  the  spirit  of  apostolic  Christianity, 
they  "  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word."  Numbers 
listened,  were  converted,  baptized,  and  joined  the  perse- 
cuted sect  at  Amsterdam,  Antwerp,  Haarlem,  and  other 
places.  Then  the  hand  of  oppression  was  heavy  upon 
them.  The  Emperor  Charles  V.,  to  whose  dominions 
the  Netherlands  belonged,  directed  that  the  heretics 
should  be  treated  with  unsparing  severity,  and  that  the 
Baptists  should  be  singled  out  foi-  special  manifestations 
of  vengeance.  The  first  martyr  whose  name  is  recorded 
was  "  Weynken  Claes'  daughter,  of  Monickendam,  a 
widow,"  who  was  strangled  at  the  stake  and  then  burned, 
at  the  Hague,  Nov.  20,  1527.  She  went  to  the  place  of 
execution  "■  cheerfully,  as  if  she  were  going  to  a  festival." 

193 


Iy6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Her  last  words  were,  "  I  cleave  to  God."'  In  the  same 
year  Jan  Walen  and  two  others  were  put  to  death  at 
Haarlem.  "  Being  bound  to  stakes  with  chains,  and  a  fire 
being  laid  around  them,  they  were  slowly  roasted,  till  the 
marrow  was  seen  to  ooze  from  the  bones  of  their  legs. 
They  were  thus  burned  and  roasted  upward,  until  death 
came  to  their  release."  ^ 

Sicke  Snyder — that  is,  Sicke,  the  tailor,  his  proper  name 
being  Freerks — was  beheaded  at  Leeu warden,  in  1531. 
He  had  "  received  Christian  baptism  on  confession  of  his 
faith,  as  a  token  of  being  a  regenerate  child  of  God,  ac- 
cording to  the  instructions  of  Christ,  seeking  thus  to  live 
and  to  walk  in  obedience  to  his  Maker.  For  this  he  be- 
came a  prisoner  in  bonds  at  Leeuwarden,  in  Friesland, 
and  experienced  much  suffering  from  the  adversaries  to 
the  truth.  And  since  he  could  by  no  torments  be  brought 
to  apostatize,  he  was  at  the  same  place  executed  by  the 
sword,  displaying  great  firmness,  bearing  testimony  to  the 
true  faith,  and  confirming  it  by  his  death  and  blood.  .  .  . 
His  sentence  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Criminal  Sentence 
Book  of  the  Court  of  Friesland  :  '  Sicke  Freerks,  on  this 
20th  of  March,  1531,  is  condemned  by  the  court  to  be  ex- 
ecuted with  the  sword ;  his  body  shall  be  laid  on  the 
wheel,  and  his  head  set  upon  a  stake,  because  he  has 
been  rebaptized,  and  perseveres  in  that  baptism.'"^ 

In  1533  three  were  burned  at  the  Hague.  They  were 
"  fastened  with  chains  to  stakes,  and  a  great  fire  having 
been  made  around  them,  they  were  roasted  till  they  ex- 
pired." At  Amsterdam,  '"  nine  men  were  taken  out  of 
their  beds  by  night,  upon  suspicion  of  Anabaptism,  hur- 
ried away  to  the  Hague,  and  after  they  had  been  impris- 

1  Martyrology,  pp.  40-44.  2  /^/^^  p_  ^j_  jf^j  j_  j.^5 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  197 

oncd  a  fortnight,  were  there  beheaded  by  order  of  the 
emperor.  Their  bodies  were  buried,  but  their  heads  put 
into  a  herring  barrel  and  sent  to  Amsterdam,  where  they 
were  set  upon  stakes."  ^  By  edicts  published  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  harbor  Baptist 
preachers  in  Holland;  and  obstinate  Baptists,  that  is, 
those  who  refused  to  recant,  were  loomed  to  suffer  the 
utmost  penalty  of  the  law.  In  obedience  to  these  edicts 
tlie  work  of  cruelty  went  on. 

On  the  loth  of  June,  1535,  a  fui'ious  edict  was  published 
at  Brussels.  Death  by  fire  was  the  punishment  of  all 
Baptists  who  should  be  detected  and  should  refuse  to  ab- 
jure. If  they  recanted  they  were  still  to  die,  but  not  by 
fire  ;  the  men  were  to  be  put  to  death  by  the  sword,  "  the 
women  in  a  sunken  pit."  Those  who  resisted  the  opera- 
tion of  the  edict  by  failing  to  deliver  up  Baptists  to  the 
authorities,  were  to  suffer  the  same  punishment  as  accom- 
plices. Informers  were  promised  one-third  of  the  confis- 
cated estates.  And  all  persons  were  forbidden  "  to  claim 
or  seek  any  grace,  forgiveness,  or  reconciliation  for  the 
said  Anabaptists,  or  rebaptizers,  or  to  present,  on  their 
behalf,  any  petitions  or  requests ;  it  being  understood," 
says  the  emperor,  "  that  it  is  not  our  will,  nor  will  we 
permit,  that  any  Anabaptists,  or  rebaptizers  (  because  of 
their  wicked  opinions),  shall  be  received  into  favor,  but 
be  punished  as  a  warning  to  others,  without  any  dissimu- 
lation, favor,  or  delay."* 

A  similar  edict  was  published  in  September,  1540. 
And  a  novel  expedient  was  adopted.  The  portraits  of 
the  principal  Reformers,  Baptists  included,  were  placed 
at  the  gates  of  the  cities,  and  in  other  public  situations, 

1  Mai-tyrology,  pp.  133,  134.  "^  Ibid.  138-140. 

17* 


198  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

that  recognition  and  seizure  might  be  more  easily  made. 
Large  rewards  were  also  offered  for  the  apprehension  of 
the  ministers.^ 

The  Inquisition  was  introduced  into  the  Netherlands  by 
Charles  V.  in  1550.  Great  consternation  was  excited, 
and  some  of  the  towns  absolutely  refused  to  publish  the 
edict.  So  powerful  were  the  remonstrances  that  the 
emperor  consented  to  modify  the  provisions  of  the  edict 
In  certain  respects  ;  but  there  was  no  relaxation  of  severity 
toward  the  Baptists.  "  Protestants  and  Papists  united  to 
oppress  and  persecute  them."^ 

When  Philip  II.  succeeded  his  father,  Charles  V.,  on 
the  abdication  of  the  latter  in  the  year  1556,  he  renewed 
the  edict  of  1550,  with  additional  articles.  "  The  publica- 
tion of  Baptist  books  was  prohibited,  and  the  right  of 
disposing  of  their  property,  by  sale  or  will,  was  taken 
away.  Nor  were  magistrates  or  judges  to  moderate  or 
lessen  the  penalties  in  the  slightest  degree."^  In  1560, 
and  again  In  1563,  these  edicts  were  renewed  and  still 
farther  extended,  so  that  there  might  be  no  possibility  of 
escape.  An  abstract  of  the  proclamation  issued  In  the 
last-mentioned  year  will  serve  to  show  the  perilous  state 
of  society  In  the  Netherlands  at  that  time.  No  persons 
were  to  remove  from  Flanders  to  Holland  without  certifi- 
cates from  the  priests  and  magistrates.  Every  settler  was 
required  to  furnish  proof  that  his  children  had  been  bap- 
tized according  to  the  rites  of  Rome.  Midwives  were  to 
6e  sworn  to  secure  the  christening  of  every  Infant  at 
whose  birth  they  might  be  present,  and  in  case  of  any 
neglect  to  report  It  to  the  magistrates.  Conventicles 
were  to  be  diligently  sought  out  and  repressed.     Parents 

'  Martyrology,  i.  207.  "^  Ibid.  p.  364.  8  Ibid.  i.  64-69. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  199 

were  ordered  to  send  their  children  to  church  and  to 
school.  Booksellers'  houses  and  peddlers'  packs  were  to 
be  searched  for  heretical  publications.  All  the  people 
were  enjoined  to  attend  mass  every  Sunday  and  holiday. 
A  month's  continuous  absence  was  to  be  punished  at  the 
discretion  of  the  judges.  No  persons  suspected  of  heresy 
were  to  be  placed  in  offices  of  trust.  In  addition,  as  be- 
fore stated,  all  the  forr_cr  enactments  respecting  burning, 
beheading,  drov-'ning,  and  burying  alive  remained  in  full 
force. ^ 

The  records  of  this  period  are  truly  heart-sickening. 
It  is  wonderful  that  any  Baptists  survived.  And  yet  it  is 
a  fact  that  they  were  becoming  stronger  and  stronger. 
Menno  Simon,  whose  public  labors  commenced  in  1537, 
preached,  baptized,  formed  churches,  published  books, 
and  traveled  extensively,  often  exposed  to  great  peril,  as 
will  be  hereafter  related  ;  nevertheless,  though  a  price 
was  set  on  his  head,  the  designs  of  the  enemy  were  de- 
feated, and  Menno  died  in  peace.  Many  other  ministers 
were  indefatigable  in  their  zeal,  among  whom  Dirk 
Philips  and  Leonard  Bouwens  deserve  most  honorable 
mention. 

The  Baptist  Martyrology  contains  distinct  notices  of 
about  four  hundred  brethren  and  sisters  who  were  barbar- 
ously put  to  death  in  Holland  and  Flanders  under  the  op- 
eration of  the  aforesaid  edicts.  The  misery  and  ruin 
which  befell  their  families  cannot  be  described.  Numbers 
more  suffered,  of  whom  no  account  has  been  preserved 
It  was  a  season  of  ''  great  tribulation." 

Tjaert  Reynerson,  "  a  godly  farmer,"  was  beheaded  at 
Leeu warden  in  1539,  because  he  had  "  from  compassion 

^  Martyrology,  ii.  269,  342. 


200  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

and  brotherly  love  secretly  harbored  Menno  Simon  in  his 
house  in  his  great  distress."  He  was  frequently  examined 
by  torture  before  his  execution,  but  would  neither  beti^ay 
his  minister  nor  deny  the  faith. ^ 

Jan  Claeson  had  forwarded  the  printing  and  publica- 
tion of  Menno  Simon's  works.  For  this  he  was  con- 
demned "  to  be  executed  by  the  sword ;  his  body  to  be 
laid  upon  the  wheel ;  the  head  set  on  a  stake."  Beste- 
vaer,  an  aged  brother,  suflered  with  him.  "  The  beloved 
brother,  Jan  Claeson,  confirmed  the  word  of  God  with 
his  crimson  blood,  and  was  afterward  given  for  food  to 
the  birds  and  wild  beasts.  .  .  .  The  aged  Bestevaer,  num- 
bering eighty-seven  years,  likewise  willingly  resigned  his 
gray  head  and  beard  to  the  stroke  of  these  tyrants'  sword 
for  the  truth  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  now  rest  together 
under  the  altar."  ^ 

A  number  of  Baptists  met  in  secret  at  Rotterdam,  in 
1544,  "  to  speak  to  each  other  for  mutual  edification  and 
establishment  in  the  truth  of  the  holy  gospel  which  they 
had  received ;  likewise,  with  one  mouth  and  lowly  hearts 
to  pray  to  the  great  God  of  heaven  and  earth  for  the  for- 
giveness of  their  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
also  with  one  accord  to  praise  and  thank  his  most  ador- 
able name."  They  were  betrayed,  apprehended,  tortured, 
and  then  put  to  death ;  the  men,  by  the  sword  ;  and 
women  were  "  thrown  into  a  boat,  and  thrust  under  the 
iCe  till  death  followed."  One  of  them  "was  a  young 
female  only  fourteen  years  old.  She  composed  the  hymn 
which  is  found  in  the  old  hymn-book,  beginning — 

'  To  the  wide  world  Immanuel  came, 
His  Father's  kingdom  left,  etc' "  ^ 

'  Martyrology,  L  207.  ^  Ibid.  262,  ^  Ibid.  i.  263. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  20I 

Richst  Heynes  was  martyred  in  1547.  When  the 
officers  were  ser  t  to  the  honse,  her  husband  escaped. 
"  But  her  they  severely  treated  and  cruelly  bound,  with- 
out any  pity  or  compassion,  although  pregnant,  and  £ii 
near  her  confinement  that  the  midwife  was  already  with 
her.  Notwithstanding  all  this  they  led  her  away,  regard- 
less of  the  tears  and  screams  of  her  little  children,  to  the 
prison  at  Leeuwarden,  where,  after  three  weeks'  imprison- 
ment^she  was  delivered  of  a  son.  .  .  .  They  afterward 
inflicted  great  torments  on  this  sheep  of  Christ,  and  tor- 
tured her  to  such  a  degree  that  she  could  not  raise  her 
hands  to  her  head.  Thus  was  she  ti'eated  in  the  inhuman 
rack,  chiefly  because  she  would  not  give  evidence  against 
her  brethren.  For  these  wolves  were  in  nowise  satisfied, 
but  still  thirsted  for  more  innocent  blood.  But  the  faithful 
God,  who  is  a  refuge  in  time  of  need,  and  a  shield  for  all 
those  who  trust  in  him,  guarded  her  mouth,  so  that  no 
one  sufllered  through  her.  After  all  means  had  thus 
failed  to  separate  her  from  Christ,  she  was  condemned 
at  the  place  above  named,  and  like  a  brute  beast  was 
put  into  a  sack,  and  plunged  under  water  until  life  was 
extinct."  ^ 

The  torture  was  constantly  resorted  to,  either  to  force 
a  recantation  or  to  procure  the  discovery  of  the  hiding- 
places  of  the  brethren.  The  victims  were  stretched  on 
the  rack — or  suspended  by  the  hands,  heavy  weights 
being  attached  to  the  feet — or  the  thumb-screws  were 
employed  or  a  similar  instrument  applied  to  the  ankles. 
The  demons  who  inflicted  these  tortures  paid  no  re- 
gard to  sex,  station,  or  age.  The  delicate  maiden,  the 
honored  minister,  the  venerable  confessor  of  threescore 

^  Martyrology,  i.  292. 


202  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

^nd  ten  and  upward,  were  alike  subjected  to  the  brutal 
test. 

In  the  year  1551,  Jeronimns  Segerson  and  another  were 
burned  at  Antwerp.  Segerson's  letters  written  while  in 
prison  breathe  a  spirit  of  exalted  piety  and  manly  endu- 
rance. "  I  had  rather,"  said  he,  "  be  tortured  ten  times 
every  day,  and  tfien  finally  be  roasted  on  a  gridiron,  than 
renounce  the  faitn  I  have  confessed." 

Lysken,  Segerson's  wife,  was  drowned.  The  narrative 
of  her  examination  and  death  is  so  interesting  that  I  will 
transcribe  the  greater  portion  of  it : 

"  Lysken,  our  sister,  having  long  lain  in  bonds,  has,  at 
last,  finished  the  period  of  her  pilgrimage,  remaining  per- 
fectly steadfast  in  the  word  of  the  Lord  even  to  the  end  ; 
the  Lord  be  for  ever  praised  !  She  very  boldly  and  undis- 
guisedly  confessed  her  faith  at  the  tribunal,  before  the 
magistrates  and  the  multitude.  They  first  asked  her  con- 
cerning baptism.  She  said,  'I  acknowledge  but  one  bap- 
tism, even  that  which  was  used  by  Christ  and  his  disci- 
plea,  and  left  to  us.'  '  What  do  you  hold  concerning  in- 
fant baptism  T  asked  the  sherift'.  To  which  Lysken  an- 
swered, '  Nothing  but  a  mere  infant's  baptism,  and  a 
human  institution.'  On  this  the  bench  stood  ujd,  and 
consulted  together,  while  Lysken,  in  the  mean  time,  con- 
fessed, and  explained  clearly  to  the  people  the  ground  of 
her  belief.  They  then  pronounced  sentence  upon  her. 
Lysken  spoke  in  the  following  manner  to  the  bench  :  'Ye 
are  now  judges  ;  but  the  time  will  come  when  ye  will 
wish  that  ye  had  been  keepers  of  sheep,  for  there  is  a 
Judge  and  Lord  who  is  above  all ;  he  shall  in  his  own 
ti-ne  judge  you.  But  we  have  not  to  wrestle  against  flesh 
and   blood,  but  against  the   principalities,  powers,  and 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  203 

rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world.'  The  bench  said, 
'  Take  her  away  from  the  tribunal.' 

"  The  people  then  ran  earnestly  to  see  her,  and  Lysken 
spoke  piously  to  them.  '  Know  that  I  do  not  suffer  for 
robbery,  or  murder,  or  any  kind  of  wickedness,  but  solely 
for  the  incorruptible  word  of  God.'" 

She  was  then  conducted  back  to  prison,  where  two 
monks  visited  her,  and  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  turn 
lier  from  the  faith.     Next  morning  she  suflere-d. 

"  On  Saturday  morning  we  rose  early,  some  before 
day,  some  with  the  daylight,  to  see  the  nuptials  which 
we  thought  would  then  be  celebrated  ;  but  the  crafty 
murderers  outran  us.  We  had  slept  too  long,  for  they 
had  finished  their  murderous  work  between  three  and 
four  o'clock.  They  had  taken  that  sheep  to  the  Scheldt, 
and  had  put  her  into  a  sack,  and  drowned  her  before  the 
people  arrived,  so  that  few  persons  saw  it.  Some,  how- 
ever, saw  it.  She  went  courageously  to  death,  and  spoke 
bravely :  '  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit.' 
Thus  she  was  delivered  up,  and  it  came  to  pass,  to  the 
honor  of  the  Lord,  that  by  the  grace  of  God  many  were 
moved  thereby. 

"  When  the  people  assembled,  and  heard  that  she  waa 
already  dead,  it  occasioned  a  great  commotion  amongst 
them,  for  it  grieved  them  as  much  as  if  she  had  been 
"^'jblicly  executed.  For  the  people  said,  '  Thieves  and 
murderers  they  bring  publicly  before  all  men ;  but  their 
treachery  is  thus  more  manifest.'  Some  simple-hearted 
people  asked,  '  Why  must  these  persons  die,  for  many 
bear  a  good  testimony  concerning  them.?'  Some  of  the 
friends  were  present,  and  spoke  openly  to  the  people ; 
'  The  reason  is,  that  they  are   .nore  obedient  to   God's 


a04  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

command  than  to  the  emperor's  or  men's ;  because  they 
have  heartily  turned  to  the  Lord  their  God,  from  lies  to 
truth,  from  darkness  to  light,  from  unrighteousness  to  right- 
eousness, from  unbelief  to  the  true  faith,  and  have  accord- 
mgly  amended  their  lives,  and  been  baptized,  seeing  they 
were  true  believers,  according  to  the  command  of  Christ 
and  the  practice  of  the  apostles.'  They  further  showed  the 
people,  from  the  word  of  God,  that  the  Papists  are  they  of 
whom  the  Apostle  Paul  prophesied — namely,  the  seducing 
spirits  who  teach  the  doctrines  of  devils  ;  and  moreover, 
that  the  righteous  have  had  to  suffer  from  the  beginning, 
from  the  time  of  Abel  to  the  present ;  that  Christ  also 
suffered  and  entered  into  the  glory  of  his  Father,  and  left 
us  an  example  that  we  should  follow  in  his  footsteps ;  for 
'  all  that  will  live  godly  in  Chi'ist  Jesus  must  suffer  per- 
secution.' "  ^ 

Gerrit  Hase-poot  lived  at  Nymegen.  During  the  heat 
of  the  persecution  he  fled  to  another  place.  After  a  time 
he  returned  to  fetch  his  wife  and  children,  but  was  seen 
by  one  of  the  sheriff's  officers,  who  gave  information  to 
his  master,  on  which  he  was  taken  into  custody  and  con- 
demned to  die.  "  After  his  condemnation,"  says  the  his- 
torian, "  his  wife  came  to  the  town  hall  to  speak  to  him 
once  more,  to  take  her  leave  of  him  and  to  say  adieu  to 
her  beloved  husband,  carrying  a  little  child  on  her  arm, 
which,  for  son-ow,  she  was  scarcely  able  to  support. 
When  wine  was  presented  to  him,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  giving  wine  to  those  who  were  sentenced  to  death, 
he  said  to  his  wife,  '  I  desire  not  this  wine,  but  hope  to 
drink  new  wine,  and  to  receive  it  above  in  my  Fathei-'s 
house.'  With  great  sorrow  they  were  separated  from 
1  Mariyrology,  i.  427-431. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  205 

each  other,  bidding  each  other  adieu  in  this  world,  for  the 
wife  could  not  longer  stand,  but  became  faint  from  grief. 
He  was  then  led  to  death.  On  being  taken  from  the 
wagon  to  the  scaflbld,  he  raised  his  voice,  and  sang  the 
hymn — 

'  Father  of  heaven,  on  thee  I  call, 
Oh  strengthen  thou  my  faith.' 

He  then  fell  upon  his  knees  and  made  his  earnest  prayer 
to  God.  When  fastened  to  the  stake,  he  threw  the  slip- 
pers from  his  feet,  saying,  '  It  were  a  pity  to  burn  these, 
for  they  may  be  of  service  to  some  poor  person  !'  The 
strap  with  which  he  was  to  be  strangled  coming  loose, 
not  having  been  properly  fastened  by  the  executioner,  he 
again  lifted  up  his  voice  and  sang  the  rest  of  the  above 
hymn — 

'  Farewell,  ye  saints,  farewell ! 

What  if  I  meet  this  end, 
Ere  long  the  Lord  shall  come, 

Our  only  Leader,  Friend : 
Joyous  I  wait  the  glorious  day, 
With  you  to  walk  in  white  array.' 

The  executioner  having  adjusted  the  cord,  this  witness 
for  Jesus  fell  asleep,  and  was  then  burnt."  ^ 

At  the  martyrdom  of  Joriaen  Simons  and  Clement 
Dirks,  at  Haarlem,  in  1557,  there  was  a  great  burning  of 
books.  Joriaen  was  a  colporteur,  and  had  circulated  a 
large  number  of  Baptist  works.  "  But  when  it  was  ob 
served  that  the  books  began  to  blaze,  such  a  tumult  arose 
among  the  people  that  the  magistrates  hastily  departed. 
The  people  then  threw  the  books  amongst  the   crowd, 

'  Martyr ology,  ii.  93. 
18 


2o6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

who  most  eagerly  caught  them.  Thus,  through  the 
providence  of  God,  instead  of  the  truth  being  extin- 
guished, as  was  intended,  it  was  the  more  spread  by  the 
reading  of  so  great  a  number  of  these  books." ^ 

At  length,  even  magistrates  and  executioners  grew 
tired  of  the  work,  and  disgusted  at  the  cruelty  of  the 
bloodthirsty  inquisitors.  An  instance  of  this  occurred 
in  155S.  Joris  Wippe  was  a  burgomaster  at  Menin,  in 
Flanders.  When  he  became  a  Baptist,  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  that  place.  He  settled  at  Dort,  in  Holland,  en* 
gaged  in  business  as  a  fuller,  and  was  much  esteemed  by 
his  fellow-citizens.  When  the  magistrates  were  informed 
of  his  being  a  Baptist,  and  were  compelled  to  take  pro- 
ceedings against  him,  they  did  all  in  their  power  to  pre- 
vent his  death  ;  but  the  higher  authorities  overruled  them. 
"  When  Joris  was  sentenced  to  die,  the  executioner  la- 
mented, with  weeping  eyes,  that  he  must  put  a  man  to 
death  who  had  often  fed  his  wife  and  children,  and  would 
rather  be  discharged  from  his  office  than  execute  a  man 
who  had  done  him  and  others  so  much  good,  and  never 
any  harm.  Joris  was  finally  drowned  in  the  prison  by 
night,  in  a  cask  filled  with  water,  by  one  of  the  thief- 
takers,  who,  at  the  magistrates'  direction,  performed  the 
office  of  executioner,  and  threw  him  backward  into  the 
water.  Thus  he  offered  up  his  body  to  the  Lord  on  the 
ist  of  October,  in  the  forty-first  year  of  his  age.  The 
next  day  his  body  was  suspended  by  the  legs  on  a  high 
gibbet,  at  the  place  of  execution,  for  the  sport  of  the  peo- 
ple. Like  his  Master,  Christ,  he  had  to  be  numbered 
with  the  transgressors.  The  day  following,  some  male- 
factors were  whipped  and  banished.     The  executioner, 

'  Martyrology,  ii.  108. 


THE    REFORMATION  PERIOD.  207 

after  executing  justice  on  these,  said,  '  They  crucified 
Christ,  but  Barabbas  they  released.'  "  ' 

Sometimes  the  execution  took  phice  privately,  within 
the  precincts  of  the  prison.  Andries  Langedul  and  two 
others  were  beheaded  at  Antwerp  in  1559,  "  not  publicly, 
but  in  the  prison.  The  other  prisoners,  of  whom  there 
were  then  many,  could  see  it  through  the  windows  of 
their  cells.  When  Andries  knelt  to  receive  the  stroke  of 
the  sword,  he  put  his  hands  together,  saying,  '  Father, 
into  thy  h:uids  I  commend' — but  'I  commend  my  spirit' 
was  not  perfectly  uttered  ;  the  rapid  stroke  of  the  sword 
prevented  it."  Several  were  drowned  in  the  same  city, 
the  year  following.  "  Peter  Gomer  the  mason  and  Jacot 
the  goldsmith,  for  the  name  of  Christ,  were  drowned  to- 
gether in  a  tub."  Lenaert  Plovier  and  two  young  females 
"  were  thrust  into  sacks,  put  into  wine-casks,  and  drowned 
by  night  in  prison."'^ 

Joos  Verbeek,  "  a  minister  of  God's  word  and  his 
church,"  suffered  at  Antwerp  in  1561.  He  was  racked 
twice  in  four  days.  He  was  scourged  till  the  blood 
flowed.  His  right  hand  having  been  "  lamed  by  torture," 
his  last  letter  to  his  wife  was  written  with  his  left  hand, 
"  with  great  difficulty."  He  was  burned  in  a  straw  hut, 
as  was  the  common  practice  toward  the  end  of  the  per- 
secution. It  was  probably  adopted  to  prevent  bystanders 
from  witnessing  the  manner  in  which  the  servants  of 
God  met  death,  and  thus  to  repress  all  manifestations  of 
sympathy.  The  martyrs  were  fastened  to  stakes  inside 
the  huts,  and  strangled,  after  which  fire  was  applied, 
and  the  huts  and  the  bodies  were  burnt  together.^ 

Thirteen  brethren  and  sisters  who  were  apprehended 

1  Martyrology,  i.  143.         2  Ibid.  250,  271,  272.         ^  IMJ.  ii.  304. 


2o8  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

at  Hallewin,  on  information  given  by  a  priest,  and  com- 
mitted to  prison  at  Lillc,  then  called  Ryssel,  were  shortly 
afterward  all  burnt  alive,  at  three  separate  times.  Jan  de 
Swarte,  a  minister,  his  wife,  and  four  sons,  were  of  the 
number.  "When  Jan  de  Swarte  was  apprehended,  the 
two  youngest  sons  were  not  at  home,  but  came  in  during 
the  time.  As  they  were  approaching  the  house,  the 
neighbors  warned  them,  and  told  them  who  were  in  the 
house,  and  that  their  father  and  mother  were  arrested. 
The  one  said  to  the  other,  '  Let  us  not  run  away,  but  die 
with  father  and  mother.'  Meanwhile  Jan  de  Swarte  was 
led  out  of  the  house  a  prisoner,  and  seeing  his  sons  said 
to  them,  'Children,  will  you  go  with  me  to  the  New 
Jei'usalem  ?'  They  said,  '  Yes,  father,  we  will ;'  and  they 
were  led  captive  with  them.  All  these  were  conducted 
prisoners  together  to  Ryssel,  and  there  strictly  guarded 
in  the  castle.  Jan  was  placed  by  himself  in  a  dungeon 
called  Paradise.  It  was  so  small  that  he  could  not  stand 
upright  in  it,  nor  lie  down  at  full  length. 

"  It  happened  one  day  that  several  brethren  and  sis- 
ters, moved  by  love  and  compassion,  came  from  outside 
the  town,  and  stood  over  against  the  castle,  calling  out 
over  the  fortification,  and  comforting  the  prisoners. 
Amongst  them  was  a  brother  named  Herman.  Being 
observed  by  one  of  the  city  officers,  who  had  gone  out 
ecretly,  he  also  was  apprehended 

"After  ten  days'  imprisonment,  Jan  de  Swarte,  his  son 
Klaes,  and  four  others  were  executed.  While  going  to 
death,  the  clock  struck.  Jan  asked  what  it  was  o'clock. 
He  was  told  four.  On  this  he  comforted  himself,  saying, 
'  By  five  o'clock  we  hope  to  be  in  our  lodge,  or  rest.' " 

A  few  days  afterward,  Klaesken,  Jan  de  Swarte's  wife, 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  209 

with  her  three  sons,  and  Herman,  were  burned  alive. 
The  remaining  two  suffered  a  year's  imprisonment,  when 
they  also  were  "  cast  alive  into  the  fire,  and  burned  to 
ashes." 

The  priest  who  had  betrayed  them  "  was  very  severely 
punished.  For  his  flesh  became  so  putrified,  that  pieces 
fell  oft'  from  his  bod}',  or  were  sometimes  cut  oft",  and  no 
cure  could  be  found  for  it.  .  .  .  While  he  was  lying  ill, 
a  man  came  to  visit  him.  When  the  priest  complained 
of  his  great  misery,  the  man  said  to  him,  '  It  is  the  coals 
of  the  fire  at  Ryssel.'  This  greaUy  displeased  the  priest ; 
but  he  was  obliged  to  endure  such  scofling,  as  well  as  the 
punishments  with  which  God  had  visited  him.  He  at 
last  died  most  miserably,  as  was  of  old  the  case  with 
Antiochus  and  Herod."  ^ 

I  will  only  add  one  more  case.  Christian  Langedul, 
with  three  others,  was  burned  at  Antwerp  in  1567.  In 
his  letters  to  his  wife  he  gives  an  account  of  the  mannei 
in  which  they  were  tortured  : 

"  We  were  all  four,  one  after  the  other,  sorely  racked, 
so  that  we  have  at  present  little  inclination  to  write.  .  .  . 
Cornelius  was  the  first  taken :  then  Hans  Symons.  .  . 
It  was  next  my  turn.  You  may  conceive  how  I  felt.  As 
I  approached  the  rack  near  the  gentlemen,  I  was  ordered 
to  strip  or  to  say  where  I  lived.  I  looked  sorrowful,  as 
you  may  suppose.  I  said,  '  Will  you  ask  me  any  more 
questions  besides  that?'  They  were  silent.  I  then 
thought,  '  I  know  how  it  must  be  ;  they  will  not  spare 
n  e.'  I  therefore  undressed,  and  gave  myself  up  to  the 
gentlemen,  fully  prepared  to  die.  They  now  cruelly 
racked  me.     I  think  two  cords  fastened  on  my  thighs  and 

>  Martyyology,  338-341. 


210  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

legs  broke.  They  also  drenched  me  with  water,  pouring 
it  into  my  mouth  and  nose.  After  releasing  me,  they  in- 
quired if  I  would  now  speak.  They  entreated  me  ;  then 
menaced  me  ;  but  I  did  not  open  my  mouth.  God  had 
shut  it.  They  then  said,  '  Give  him  another  taste  of  it.' 
This  they  did,  calling  out,  '  Away,  away ;  stretch  him 
another  foot.'  I  thought,  '  You  can  but  kill  me.'  While 
thus  lying  stretched  out,  drawn  by  cords  on  my  head  and 
chin,  and  on  my  thighs  and  legs,  they  said,  '  Speak, 
speak.'  They  now  chatted  with  one  another  about  the 
account  which  J.  T.  had  prepared  of  my  linen,  which 
amounted  to  six  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  the  sum  it 
would  fetch  by  auction.  .  .  .  Again  I  was  asked,  '  Will 
you  not  speak.?'  I  kept  my  mouth  closed.  They  said, 
'  Say  where  you  live,  and  where  your  wife  and  children 
are.'  But  I  said  not  a  word.  '  What  a  dreadful  thing  !' 
said  they  in  French  ;  but  I  replied  not,  for  the  Lord  kept 
the  door  of  my  lips.  After  they  had  long  tried  to  make 
me  speak,  they  at  last  released  me. 

"  Matthew  was  tortured  after  me.  He  named  his  own 
house  and  the  street  where  we  live.  He  also  said  that 
we  lived  in  a  gateway,  and  I  think  there  is  no  other  gate- 
way in  the  street  but  ours.  You  had  better,  therefore, 
immediately  remove,  if  you  have  not  left,  for  I  think  the 
magistrates  will  go  there.  Let  no  one  go  to  the  house 
who  is  in  any  danger  of  apprehension.  He  also  men- 
tioned the  house  of  R.  T.,  and  the  sti-eet  in  which  F.  V. 
lives.  Do  immediately  the  best  you  can  in  this  matter. 
He  is  very  sorry  that  he  did  so.  Cornelius  and  Hans  did 
not  disclose  anything." 

"  We  were  afraid  that  the  margrave  would  come  to 
torture  Cornelius  once  more,  and  we  also  feared  that  Fve 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  211 

should  again  be  tortured.  We  tremble  much  at  the  pros- 
pect, for  the  pain  is  frightful ;  we  do  not  fear  death  near 
so  much.  Cornelius  was  so  racked  and  scourged  the 
second  time  that  it  required  three  men  to  carry  him  up 
stairs,  who  say  that  he  could  scarcely  move  a  limb,  only 
his  tongue.  He  sent  to  us  to  say  that  if  they  come  to 
him  again  he  thinks  thrit  he  must  sink  under  it.  As  the 
margrave  did  not  come  j-esterday,  we  expect  him  here 
to-day.  The  Lord  help  us !  for  the  pain  is  excruci- 
ating !"^ 

While  these  horrible  scenes  were  enacted,  the  Baptists 
of  the  Netherlands  persevered  in  the  foith.  Neither  fires 
nor  floods  appalled  them.  Menno  Simon  and  other  bold- 
spirited  men  risked  their  lives  continually  in  the  service 
of  the  gospel.  They  were  always  traveling  from  place 
to  place,  and  by  their  itinerant  labors  an  immense  amount 
of  good  was  accomplished.  Converts  were  baptized  and 
added  to  the  churches  in  every  part  of  the  country.  The 
servants  of  God  were  confirmed  in  the  faith,  useful  pub- 
lications were  scattered  abroad,  and  Anabaptism,  as  it 
was  called,  like  the  bush  which  Moses  saw,  though  it 
was  "  burned  with  fire,  was  not  consumed." 

1  Martyrology,  ii.  426-438. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Biography  of  Menno   Simon — Account  of  his  Publications — Church 
Government  among  the  Baptists — Missionary  Excursions. 

I  PROPOSE    now  to   give   some   account  of  Menno 
Simon,  to  whose  labors  tlie  Baptists  of  Holland  were 
so  deeply  indebted. 

This  great  man  was  born  at  Witmarsum,  in  Friesland, 
in  the  year  1505.  Very  little  is  known  of  his  early  life. 
It  is  not  known  where  he  studied  ;  but  it  is  evident,  both 
from  his  writings  and  from  the  admissions  of  his  oppo- 
nents, that  he  was  a  first-rate  scholar.  Mosheim  says 
that  he  had  acquired  "  learning  enough  to  be  regarded'by 
many  as  an  oracle."  Though  he  was  educated  for  the 
priesthood,  he  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures, 
excepting  such  portions  as  are  contained  in  the  Missal 
and  the  Breviary.  Nay  more — he  was  not  only  ignorant 
but  hostile,  "  speaking  evil  of  things  which  he  knew  not,'\ 
after  the  manner  of  the  Romish  priesthood  of  that  age, 
who  were  irritated  by  the  Reformers'  constant  appeal  to 
the  word  of  God,  and  refused  to  admit  it,  maintaining 
that  the  authority  of  the  church  was  supreme.  The  foct 
that  Luther  and  his  coadjutors  proposed  to  derive  their 
religious  views  from  the  Bible  led  these  sapient  priests 
to  identify  the  Holy  Book  with  heresy,  and  therefore  to 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  213 

refrain  from  perusing  it.  So  Menno  Simon  afterward 
confessed. 

But  he  was  a  thinking  man.  Having  been  ordained 
in  1528,  he  became  vicar  of  Pingium,  a  village  in  Fries- 
land.  I'he  celebration  of  the  mass  was  of  course  a  fre- 
quent duty.  He  had  been  taught  to  believe  that  when 
the  priest  uttered  the  words,  '■'■Hoc  esi  corpus  mcum'" 
("This  is  my  body"),  the  wafer  was  changed  into  the 
body  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  His  reason  was  shocked  and 
disgusted.  Could  these  things  be  true.?  Did  Christianity 
teach  them  }  Such  questions  could  not  be  answered  un- 
less he  examined  the  original  record.  He  determined  to 
do  so,  and  in  the  year  1530  he  read  the  New  Testament. 
The  perusal  opened  his  ejes.  He  renounced  transub- 
stantiation.  Continuing  to  read,  more  enlightenment 
followed.  As  he  learned,  he  taught.  He  preached  so 
diflerently  that  he  began  to  be  regarded  as  an  evangelical 
minister.  But  as  yet  it  was  only  light ;  spiritual  life  was 
wanting. 

I'mentioned  in  a  former  chapter  the  martyrdom  of  Sicke 
Snyder  at  Leeuwarden.  Menno  heard  of  it,  and  then 
for  the  first  time  was  informed  of  the  existence  of  the 
people  called  "  Anabaptists."  The  effects  produced  on 
his  mind,  and  the  ultimate  results,  were  thus  stated  by 
himself  some  years  afterward  : 

"  It  sounded  very  strange  in  my  ears  to  speak  of  a  per- 
son being  I'ebaptized.  I  examined  the  Scriptures  with 
diligence,  and  meditated  on  them  earnestly ;  but  could 
find  in  them  no  authority  for  infant  baptism.  As  I  re- 
marked this,  I  spoke  of  it  to  my  pastor ;  and  after  several 
conversations  he  acknowledged  that  infant  baptism  had 
no  ground  in  the   Scriptures.     Yet  I  dare  not  trust  so 


214  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

much  to  my  understanding.  I  consulted  some  ancien'. 
authors,  who  taught  me  that  children  must  by  baptism  be 
washed  from  their  original  sin.  This  I  compared  with 
the  Scriptures,  and  perceived  that  it  set  at  naught  the 
blood  of  Christ.  Afterward  I  went  to  Luther,  and  would 
gladly  have  known  from  him  the  ground  ;  and  he  taughl 
me  that  we  must  bapti2;e  children  on  their  own  faith,  be- 
cause they  are  holy.  This  also  I  saw  was  not  according 
to  Gcd's  word.  In  the  third  place,  I  went  to  Bucer,  who 
taugnt  me  that  we  shorld  baptize  children  in  order  to  be 
able  the  more  diligently  to  take  care  of  them  and  bring 
them  up  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  But  this,  too,  I  saw 
vvas  a  groundless  representation.  In  the  fourth  place,  I 
'lad  recourse  to  Bullinger,  who  pointed  me  to  the  cove 
nant  of  circumcision  ;  but  I  found,  as  before,  that  accord 
ing  to  Scripture  the  practice  could  not  stand.  As  I  now 
on  every  side  observed  that  the  writers  stood  on  grounds 
so  very  different,  and  each  followed  his  own  reason,  I 
saw  clearly  that  we  were  deceived  with  infant  baptism." 

In  1530  Menno  I'eturned  to  Witmarsum,  his  native'vil- 
lage,  where  he  remained  five  years,  discharging  his  duties 
as  a  Romish  priest.  "  There,"  said  he,  "  I  preached  and 
said  much  from  the  word  of  God,  but  without  any  in- 
fluence from  the  Spirit,  or  any  proper  affection  for  the 
souls  of  men  ;  and  I  made,  by  these  my  sermons,  many 
young  persons,  like  myself,  vain  boasters  and  empty  talk- 
ers ;  but  they  had  very  little  concern  for  spiritual  things. 
...  I  entered  with  ardor  into  the  indulgence  of  youthful 
lusts ;  and,  like  the  generality  of  persons  of  similar  pur- 
suits, sought  exclusively  after  gain,  worldly  appearance 
the  favor  of  men,  and  the  glory  of  a  name."  Neverthe 
less,  he  continued  to  inquire  after  truth,  and  the  Lord 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  215 

graciously  guided  and  blessed  him.  As  his  views  be- 
came clearer,  his  heart  was  affected,  and  at  length  all  the 
marks  of  genuine  conversion  appeared.  Then  came  a 
time  of  trial.  Should  he  retain  his  position  as  a  priest, 
or  forsake  all  and  follow  Christ.?  "  If  I  continue  in  this 
state,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  do  not  to  the  utmost  of  my 
ability  expose  the  hypocrisy  of  false  teachers,  and  the  im- 
penitent  and  careless  lives  of  men,  their  depraved  baptism 
and  supper,  with  their  other  superstitions,  what  will  be- 
come of  me  V  True  to  his  convictions,  he  faithfully  and 
fearlessly  proclaimed  the  gospel. 

"  I  began,"  he  said,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  teach 
publicly  from  the  pulpit  the  doctrine  of  true  repentance  ; 
to  guide  the  people  in  the  narrow  path  ;  to  testify  con- 
cerning sins  and  unchristian  behavior,  and  all  idolatry 
and  false  worship  ;  as  also  concerning  baptism  and  the  sup- 
jDer,  according  to  the  sense  and  fundamental  principles  of 
Christ,  as  far  as  I  at  the  time  received  grace  froin  my  God. 
Also,  I  warned  every  man  against  the  Munster  abomina- 
tions in  regard  to  a  king,  to  polygamy,  to  a  worldly  king- 
dom, to  the  sword,  etc.,  most  faithfully,  until  the  great 
and  gracious  Lord,  perhaps  after  the  course  of  nine 
months,  extended  to  me  his  fatherly  Spirit,  help  and 
mighty  hand,  so  that  I  freely  abandoned  at  once  my  cha- 
racter and  fame  among  men,  as  also  my  antichristian 
abominations,  mass,  infont  baptism,  loose  and  careless 
life,  and  all ;  and  put  myself  willingly  in  all  trouble  and 
poverty,  under  the  pressing  cross  of  Christ  the  Lord.  In 
my  weakness  I  feared  God.  I  sought  pious  people,  and 
of  these  I  found  some,  though  few,  in  good  zeal  and  doc- 
trine. I  disputed  with  the  perverted  ;  and  some  I  gained 
through  God's  help  and  power  ;  but  the  stiff-necked  and 


2l6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

obdurate  I  commended  to  the  Lord.  Thus  has  the  gra- 
cious Lord  drawn  me  through  the  free  favor  of  his  great 
grace.  He  first  stirred  in  my  heart.  He  has  given  me  a 
new  mind.  He  has  humbled  me  in  his  fear.  He  has  led 
me  from  the  way  of  death,  and  through  mere  mercy  has 
called  me  upon  the  narrow  path  of  life  into  the  company 
of  his  saints.     To  him  be  praise  for  ever.     Amen." 

This  reference  to  the  "  Munster  abominations"  serves 
to  point  out  the  peculiarity  of  his  circumstances.  He 
was  fully  a  Baptist  in  principle  ;  but  the  outrageous  con- 
duct of  the  men  of  Munster  (about  whom  I  shall  have 
to  speak  at  large  in  a  subsequent  chapter)  had  exposed 
all  persons  bearing  the  Baptist  name  to  unmerited  oppro- 
brium ;  in  fact,  no  man's  life  was  safe  who  attached  him- 
self to  that  body.  Menno  distinguished,  however,  be- 
tween the  precious  and  the  vile.  Repudiating  the  mon- 
strous dogmas  and  pretensions  which  characterized  the 
Munster  mania,  against  which  he  always  earnestly  pro- 
tested, he  embraced  the  sentiments  held  by  the  genuine 
Baptists,  and  joined  one  of  their  churches.  This  was  in 
the  year  1535. 

During  the  first  year  after  his  baptism,  Menno  lived  in 
retirement,  meeting  with  the  church  from  time  to  time, 
and  diligently  employing  all  the  means  in  his  power  for 
the  increase  of  knowledge  and  piety.  But  he  could  not 
be  hid.  The  church  recognized  his  talents  for  usefulness, 
and  wisely  determined  to  call  him  out  to  labor.  I  will 
again  cite  his  own  words  : 

"  He  who  bought  me  with  the  blood  of  his  love,  and 
called  me  to  his  service,  unworthy  as  I  am,  searches  me, 
and  knows  that  I  seek  neither  gold,  nor  goods,  nor  luxury, 
nor  ease  on  earth  ;  but  only  my  Lord's  glory,  my  salva- 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  217 

tion,  and  the  souls  of  many  immortals.  Wherefore  I 
have  had,  now  the  eighteenth  year,  to  endure  such  exces- 
sive anxiety,  oppression,  trouble,  sorrow^,  and  persecution, 
with  my  poor,  feeble  wife  and  little  offspring,  that  I  have 
stood  in  jeopardy  of  my  life,  and  in  many  a  fear.  Yes, 
while  the  priests  lie  on  soft  beds  and  cushions,  we  must 
hide  ourselves  commonly  in  secret  corners.  While  they 
are  at  all  nuptials  and  christenings,  and  at  other  times 
make  themselves  merry  in  public  with  fifes,  drums,  and 
various  kinds  of  music,  we  must  look  out  for  every  dog, 
lest  he  be  one  employed  to  catch  us.  Instead  of  being 
greeted  by  all  as  doctors  and  masters,  we  must  be  called 
Anabaptists,  clandestine  holders-forth,  deceivers,  and 
heretics.  In  short,  while  for  their  services  they  are  re- 
warded in  princely  style,  with  great  emoluments  and  good 
days,  our  reward  and  portion  must  be  fire,  sword  and 
death. 

"  What  now  I,  and  my  true  coadjutors  in  this  very  dif- 
ficult and  hazardous  service,  have  sought,  or  could  have 
sought  all  the  well-disposed  may  easily  estimate  from  the 
work  itself  and  its  fruit.  .  .  .  And  through  our  feebl'e 
service,  teaching,  and  simple  writing,  with  the  careful 
deportment,  labor,  and  help  of  our  faithful  brethren,  the 
great  and  mighty  God  has  made  so  known  and  public  in 
many  cities  and  lands  the  word  of  true  repentance,  the 
word  of  his  grace  and  power,  together  with  the  whole- 
some use  of  his  holy  sacraments  ;  and  has  given  such 
growth  to  his  churches,  and  endowed  them  with  such  in- 
vincible strength,  that  not  only  have  many  proud  hearts 
become  humble,  the  impure  chaste,  the  drunken  temper- 
ate, the  covetous  liberal,  the  ci'uel  kind,  the  godless  godly  ; 
but  also  for  the  testimony  which  they  bear,  they  fa  thfully 
19 


2l8  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

give  up  their  property  to  confiscation  and  their  bodies  to 
torture  and  to  death — as  has  occurred  again  and  again  to 
the  present  hour.  These  are  no  marks  or  fruits  of  false 
doctrine — with  that  God  does  not  co-operate — nor  under 
such  oppression  and  misery  could  anything  have  stood  so 
long,  were  it  not  the  power  and  the  word  of  the  Almighty. 
Whether  all  the  prophets,  apostles,  and  true  servants  of 
God,  did  not  through  their  service,  produce  the  like  fruits 
we  would  gladly  let  all  the  pious  judge." 

The  issue  was,  that  Menno  became  a  Baptist  minister. 
The  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  toil- 
some and  perilous  efforts  for  the  spread  of  the  truth.  Re- 
peatedly compelled  to  change  his  abode,  and  living  for 
the  most  part  in  a  state  of  wandering  and  exile,  his  life 
was,  no  doubt,  greatly  embittered.  Having  maj-ried,  too, 
at  an  early  period  of  his  ministry,  his  sufferings  were  in- 
creased by  the  exposure  of  his  wife  and  children  to  the 
same  distress  as  he  himself  endured.  But  he  labored  on 
without  fainting,  and  God  abundantly  blessed  him.  Let 
us  listen  to  him  once  more. 

"  Perhaps  a  year  afterward,  as  I  was  silently  employing 
myself  upon  the  word  of  the  Lord,  in  reading  and  writ- 
ing, there  came  to  me  six  or  eight  persons,  who  were  of 
one  heart  and  soul  with  me  ;  in  their  faith  and  life,  so  far 
as  man  can  judge,  irreproachable  ;  separated  from  the 
world,  according  to  the  direction  of  the  Scriptures  ;  sub- 
jected to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  and  bearing  a  hearty  ab- 
horrence, not  only  of  the  Munster,  but  also  of  all  worldly 
sects,  anathematizing s,  and  corruptions.  With  much 
kind  entreaty  they  urged  me  in  the  name  of  the  pious  who 
were  agreed  with  them  and  me  in  one  spirit  and  senti- 
ment, that  I  would  yet  lay  a  little  to  heart  the  severe  dis- 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  2ig 

tress  and  great  necessities  of  the  poor  oppressed  souls— 
for  the  hunger  was  great,  and  very  few  were  the  faithful 
stewards — and  employ  the  talent,  which,  unworthy  as  I 
am,  I  had  received  from  the  Lord. 

"  As  I  heard  this  I  was  very  much  troubled  ;  anguish 
and  fearfulness  surrounded  me.  For  on  the  one  hand,  I 
saw  my  small  gift ;  my  want  of  erudition  ;  my  weak  and 
bashful  nature  ;  the  extremely  great  wickedness,  willful- 
ness, perverse  conduct,  and  tyranny  of  the  world  ;  the 
powerful  large  sects ;  the  craftiness  of  many  spirits  ;  and 
the  heavy  cross,  which,  should  I  begin,  would  not  a  little 
press  me.  On  the  other  side,  I  saw  the  pitiable  extreme 
hunger,  want,  and  necessity  of  the  devout,  pious  chil- 
dren ;  for  I  perceived  clearly  enough  that  they  wandered, 
as  the  simple,  forsaken  sheep  when  they  have  no  shep- 
herd. 

"At  length,  after  much  prayer,  I  resigned  myself  to 
the  Lord  and  his  people  with  this  condition.  They  were 
to  unite  with  me  in  praying  to  him  fervently,  that  should 
it  be  his  holy  pleasure  to  employ  me  in  his  service  to  his 
praise,  his  fatherly  kindness  would  then  give  me  such  a 
heart  and  mind  as  would  testify  to  me  with  Paul :  IVbe  is 
me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel!  But  should  his  will  be 
otherwise,  that  he  would  order  such  means  as  to  permit 
the  matter  to  rest  where  it  was.  '•For  if  two  of  you 
shall  agree  07i  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they 
shall  ask^  it  shall  be  dotiefor  them  of  my  Father  ivhich 
is  in  heaven.  For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  7ny  name.,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  thetn* 
(Matt,  xviii.  19,  20)."^ 

'  The  above  account  is  extracted  from  Menno  Simon's  Narrative  of 
his  Secession  from  Fopery 


220  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Before  his  time  the  Baptists  of  Holland  had  been  un- 
able from  various  causes  to  realize,  as  completely  as  was 
to  be  desired,  the  advantages  of  church  organization. 
Menno  instructed  them  in  these  matters,  and  in  establish- 
ing regular  government  and  discipline.  It  might  be  said 
that  he  exercised  a  sort  of  apostolic  supei-vision  over 
them.  At  any  rate,  his  labors  and  journeyings  weie 
apostolical.  "  He  traveled  in  West  Friesland,"  says 
Mosheim,  "  the  territory  of  Groningen,  and  East  Fries- 
land,  then  in  Guelderland,  Holland,  Brabant,  and  West- 
phalia, and  the  German  provinces,  along  the  shores  of 
the  Baltic,  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Livonia,  and  gathered 
an  immense  number  of  followers,  so  that  he  was  almost 
the  common  father  and  bishop  of  all  the  Anabaptists."  ^ 

Such  exertions  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  special  no- 
tice of  the  persecuting  government  of  the  Netherlands. 
A  proclamation  was  issued,  offering  pardon  (if  the  in- 
former were  a  Baptist),  the  freedom  of  the  country,  and 
a  large  pecuniary  reward,  to  any  one  who  would  deliver 
up  Menno  to  the  authorities. '■'  Sometimes  he  was  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  seized.  On  one  occasion  a 
Christian  brother,  in  whose  house  he  had  taken  shelter, 
was  apprehended,  cruelly  tortured,  and  then  put  to  death, 
because  he  would  not  betray  the  servant  of  God.  An- 
other narrow  escape  is  thus  nan^ted  by  his  daughter : 

"  A  traitor  had  agreed,  for  a  specified  sum  of  money, 
o  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  He  first 
sought  to  apprehend  him  at  a  meeting;  in  which,  how- 
ever, he  failed  of  success,  and  Menno  escaped  in  a  won- 
derful manner.     Soon  after  this,  the  traitor,  in  company 

1  Ecclesiastical  History,  cent.  xvi.  sect.  3,  part  2,  chap.  vi.  sect.  8. 
*  Alartyrology,  i.  242. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  221 

with  an  officer,  passed  him  in  a  small  boat  on  the  canal. 
But  the  traitor  kept  quiet  till  Menno  had  passed  them  to 
some  distance,  and  had  leaped  ashore  in  order  to  escape 
witli  less  danger.  Then  the  traitor  cried  out,  '  Behold, 
the  bird  has  escaped  us  !'  The  officer  chastised  him — 
called  him  a  villam — and  demanded  why  he  did  not  tell 
of  it  in  time  ;  to  which  the  traitor  replied,  '  I  could  not 
speak ;  for  my  tongue  was  bound.'  The  lords  were  so 
displeased  at  this  that  they  punished  the  traitor  severely 
^a  warning  and  lesson  to  all  bloodthirsty  traitors.'" 

At  last  Providence  appeared  for  him.  The  lord  of 
Fresenburg,  a  territory  between  Holland  and  Lubeck, 
had  frequently  visited  the  Netherlands,  had  witnessed  the 
persecution  of  the  Baptists,  and  admired  their  piety  and 
steadfastness.  When  they  were  driven  from  their  homes, 
he  allowed  them  to  settle  on  his  estates.  Great  numbers 
availed  themselves  of  the  privilege.  Flourishing  settle- 
ments were  founded,  and  many  Baptist  churches  estab- 
lished. There  Menno  also  found  a  peaceful  retreat,  and 
pursued  his  labors  without  molestation.  A  printing  es- 
tablishment was  founded  there,  whence  his  numerous 
works  were  issued.  And  there  he  died,  on  the  15th  of 
'January,  1561,  in  the  village  of  Odesloe.  His  remains 
were  deposited  in  his  own  garden. 

No  account  of  the  manner  of  his  death  has  been  pre- 
served. But  his  "doctrine,  purpose,  and  manner  of  life" 
were  "fully  known."  The  "end"  of  such  a  man  was 
undoubtedly  "  peace." 

Menno  Simon  was  a  voluminous  writer.  His  works 
have  been  collected  and  published  in  a  handsome  folio  vol- 
ume.   I  will  mention  the  principal  treatises  contained  in  it 

'  Martyrology,  i.  244. 
19* 


222  BAPTIST   HISTORY. 

I.  "  An  evident  demonstration  of  the  saving  doctrine 
of  Jesus  Christ."  In  this  work  he  discusses  the  follov^'ing 
subjects:  i.  The  time  of  grace.  2.  Repentance.  3. 
Faith,  which  he  defines,  "  An  embracing  of  the  gospel 
through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  He  shows  that 
the  believer  relies  upon  Christ  and  his  grace  ;  that  he 
embraces  his  promises ;  and  that  he  is  justified,  not  by 
works,  but  by  faith,  which  is  not  of  men,  but  the  gift  of 
God  ;  and  that  this  faith  is  not  without  fruits,  but  worketh 
by  love.  4.  Baptism.  He  defends  the  confining  of  bap- 
tism to  believei's  from  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  Mark  xvi.  16,  and 
by  the  arguments  usually  adduced  by  Baptists,  and  re- 
plies to  the  arguments  in  favor  of  Paedobaptism.  In  this 
chapter  he  employs  a  very  severe  style  of  writing.  It 
was  common  to  the  authors  of  that  and  the  next  age. 
The  Reformers,  and  after  them,  the  Puritans,  treated 
their  adversaries  with  very  little  courtesy ;  and  certainly 
they  received  none  from  their  opponents.  5.  The  Lord's 
supper.  6.  Secession  from  the  Church  of  Rome.  7. 
The  calling  of  ministers  in  the  church.  8.  The  doctrines 
to  be  preached  by  ministers,  showing  that  the  Scripture 
is  the  only  rule  of  faith.  9.  The  life  of  ministers,  and 
their  support.  He  denies  the  lawfulness  of  ministerial 
stipends.  This  was  one  of  his  mistakes.  In  this  chapter 
also,  he  cautions  magistrates,  learned  men,  and  the  com- 
mon people,  against  false  ministers,  meaning  those  who 
had  identified  themselves  with  insurrections  against  the 
civil  power.  He  shows  that  the  only  sword  which  the 
Christians  ought  to  use  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and 
that  with  this  sword  Christ  so  protects  his  church  that 
the  gates  of  hell   shall  not  prevail   against   it.     He  also 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  223 

admonishes  the  church  under  persecution   to  walk  in  tlie 
practice  of  all  Christian  virtues. 

II.  "  Fundamental  doctrines  from  the  word  of  God," 
This  treatise  closely  resembles  the  first.  He  writes  very 
clearly  and  fully  on  the  spirituality  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  and  contends  that  none  but  the  regenerate  are  true 
members  of  the  church. 

III.  "  A  consolatory  admonition  to  the  people  of  God 
under  persecution."  Having  adverted  to  the  ordinary 
topics  of  consolation,  he  warns  his  brethren  very  earnestly 
against  taking  up  arms  in  defence  of  religion. 

IV.  "  The  doctrine  of  excommunication."  It  is  shown 
that  excommunication  is  designed  to  bring  sinners  to  re- 
pentance, and  preserve  the  church  in  its  purity.  This  is 
well.  But  when  Menno  goes  on  to  maintain  that  the 
pious  must  withdraw  altogether  from  the  excommuni- 
cated, and  have  no  dealings  with  them — and  that  excom- 
munication dissolves  all  society  between  father  and  chil- 
dren, brothers  and  sisters,  husbands  and  wives — union 
with  Christ  by  faith  being  infinitely  more  important  than 
any  earthly  union — we  cannot  but  confess  that  his  scheme 
was  far  harsher  than  the  New  Testament  would  warrant. 
There  was  much  disputing  on  this  subject  between  the 
men  of  severe  measures  and  their  moderate  brethren  : 
but  the  latter  were  in  the  minority  during  the  period  now 
under  consideration. 

V.  "  Reply  to  Gellius  Faber,  minister  at  Embden." 
All  the  peculiarities  of  the  Baptists  were  stated  and  de- 
fended in  this  work.  Faber  had  not  only  written  against 
them,  but  had  also  stin-ed  up  persecution  and  inflamed  the 
mindsof  the  people.  Hence  Menno  hits  him  hard.  Faber, 
too,  gives  sturdy  blows.     They  were  both  rough  men. 


B24  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

VI.  "  A  piteous  supplication  of  poor  Christians,  ad- 
dressed to  magistrates,"  etc. 

VII.  "  A  brief  vindication  of  miserable  Christians  and 
dispersed  strangers,  etc.,  addressed  to  all  divines  and 
preachers  in  the  Netherlands."  In  these  two  works 
Menno  defends  himself  and  his  brethren  against  the  ac- 
cusations brought  against  them.  He  exposes  the  calum- 
nies of  their  foes,  and  indignantly  remonstrates  with 
magistrates  and  ministers  for  allowing  themselves  to  be 
led  away  by  misrepresentations  and  lies,  invented  for  no 
other  purpose  than  the  accomplishment  of  the  ruin  of  in- 
nocent people. 

VIII.  The  most  interesting  of  all  Menno  Simon's  works 
is  the  "Narration  of  his  Secession  from  Popery,"  in  which 
he  traces  and  describes  the  various  experiences  through 
which  he  passed,  and  the  struggles  he  endured  ere  he  at- 
tained full  deliverance.^ 

In  common  with  the  Baptists  of  that  period,  generally, 
Menno  Simon  held  that  no  Christian  should  undertake 
the  office  of  magistrate,  or  bear  arms,  or  bind  himself  by 
oath.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  these  sentiments, 
now,  it  is  evident  that  they  originated  in  the  views  enter- 
tained by  Baptists  respecting  the  purity  of  the  church. 
Maintaining  that  a  church  of  Christ  should  consist  .exclu- 
sively of  pious  persons,  they  concluded,  necessarily,  that 
such  persons  would  not  be  law-breakers,  that  they  would 
abhor  all  violence,  and  that  their  word  might  be  relied 
on.  Among  thcm^  therefore,  no  magistrate  would  be  re- 
quired.    Theil  principles  would  be  incompatible  with  the 

1  See  London  Baptist  Maqazine,  vol.  x.  pp.  361-368,  401-406,  contain- 
ing a  Memoir  of  Menno  Simon,  by  the  late  Rev.  William  Rowe,  of 
Weymouth. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  22$ 

employment  of  force,  even  in  self-defence.  It  would  be 
outrageous  to  call  upon  ///6V«  to  confirm  any  statement 
by  an  oath,  since  the  word  of  true  men  ought  always  to 
be  taken.  All  this  may  be  admitted.  Meuno  Simon  and 
his  friends  seem  to  have  forgotten,  however,  that  they 
were  living  "  in  the  world,"  and  that  there  were  certain 
duties  incumbent  on  them  as  members  of  society.  Yet 
these  were  harmless  notions,  and  might  have  been  borne 
with.  They  would  have  been,  had  forbearance  been  the 
temper  of  the  age. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  doctrinal  opinions  of  the  Baptists 
of  this  period  harmonized,  with  a  few  excejDtions  not  of 
great  moment,  with  those  entertained  by  the  Reformers 
of  all  persuasions.  With  regard  to  the  constitution  and 
government  of  Christian  churches,  they  and  the  Reform- 
ers materially  differed.  According  to  the  latter,  infant 
baptism  formed  the  basis  of  church-membership,  and  the 
church  and  the  nation  were  identical.  The  Baptists,  on 
the  contrary,  would  admit  no  members  to  their  churches 
but  on  personal  profession  of  repentance  and  faith,  on 
which  pi-ofession  the  parties  were  baptized.  All  their 
subsequent  arrangements  were  founded  on  these  pre- 
requisites." Every  church  was  a  family  of  believers. 
When  they  sat  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  they  felt 
that  they  were  one  in  Christ  and  "  members  one  of  an- 
other." The  church,  in  their  estimation,  was  a  holy  so- 
ciety. All  the  rule  and  discipline  tended  to  the  presei-va- 
tion  of  that  holiness.  So  Baptists  have  thought  and  prac- 
ticed from  the  beginning. 

I  do  not  find  any  material  difference  between  them  and 
ourselves  in  regard  to  the  organization  and  management 
of  churches.     The  opposition  was  £0  violent  that   they 


326  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

were  compelled  to  meet  in  secret,  and  at  such  times  as 
they  were  able.  Doubtless,  whenever  it  was  practicable, 
they  spent  the  Lord's  Day  together  in  spiritual  exercises, 
"  according  to  the  commandment."  On  those  occasions, 
if  ministers  were  present,  they  preached  and  taught,  and 
administered  the  oiJinance  of  the  Lord's  supper:  if  not, 
tliere  was  mutual  exhortation,  with  prayer  and  praise. 
Care  was  taken  to  ascertain  who  among  them  were  pos- 
sessed of  suitable  gifts ;  and  these,  after  a  season  of  pro- 
bation, Were  solemnly  set  apart  to  the  ministerial  office, 
by  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands.  Sometimes  they 
sent  out  brethren  on  missionary  tours,  to  gather  together 
scattered  disciples  or  comfort  afflicted  churches.  This 
proved  not  unfi"equently  a  perilous  task.  Several  instances 
of  martyrdom  are  recorded,  resulting  from  the  discharge 
of  the  duty.  The  itinerant  missionary  was  apprehended 
as  a  suspected  man  ;  for  the  fact  of  his  being  a  stran- 
ger, and  often  a  foreigner,  was  sufficient  to  arouse  sus- 
picion. Examination  disclosed  the  secret,  and  death 
followed. 

I  will  give  you  a  few  extracts  from  the  "  Martyrology," 
which  will  illustrate  this  part  of  the  subject. 

Joriaen  Simons  and  Clement  Dorks,  together  with 
Mary  Jones,  "fell  into  the  hands  of  the  tyrants  at  Haar- 
lem," in  1557.  "From  the  very  gates  of  their  prison 
they  made  known  the  word  of  the  Lord,  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  all.'  When  called  on  to  declare  their  faith,  they 
said,  "  that  they  had  been  baptized  on  a  confession  of 
their  faith,  according  to  the  command  of  Christ,"  and 
that  "  infant  baptism  was  not  from  God,  but  in  opposi- 
tion to  his  word."  They  observed  the  supper  of  the 
Lord  "  agreeably  to  the  institution  of   Christ,  after  his 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  227 

own  usage  and  blessing  when  with  his  apostles."  They 
"could  not  acknowledge  the  Pope  and  the  Romish 
Church  to  be  the  church  of  God."  They  acknowledge 
"  no  other  punishment  of  offenders  in  the  church  than 
evangelic  excommunication,  thereby  to  separate  the  bad 
from  the  good,  that  a  pure  church  might  be  presented  to 
the  Lord,  in  which  there  might  be  nothing  impure  or  de- 
filed." ^ 

It  was  observed  of  two  godly  women  who  were  be 
headed  at  Ghent,  in  1564,  that  "they  had  separated  them 
selves,  agreeably  to  the  direction  of  the  holy  Scriptures, 
from  the  Popish  Church  of  Antichrist,  as  corrupted  with 
many  impurities,  and  filled  with  the  unfruitful  works  of 
darkness,  and  doctrines,  and  commandments  of  men,  in 
opposition  to  the  holy  word  of  the  Lord.  They  had  also 
united  themselves  with  the  true  members  of  Christ,  and 
with  them,  according  to  their  weak  ability,  endeavored  to 
observe  the  Lord's  commandments  and  ordinances.  They 
were  therefore  deprived  of  life  by  the  persecutors  and 
haters  of  the  truth." ^ 

In  1559,  "Jan  Bosch,  commonly  called  Jan  Durps,  was 
a  pious,  worthy  man,  a  linen-weaver  by  trade,  living  at 
Maestricht.  Though  the  truth  was  very  much  obscured 
by  the  Papacy,  yet  the  light  of  divine  grace  shone  into  his 
mind,  and  genuine  gospel  truth  was  brought  home  to  him. 
He  repaired  to  the  church  of  God,  and  yielded  the  obe- 
dience which  Christ  the  Son  of  God  prescribed  and  com- 
manded. After  he  had  for  a  season  adorned  his  Christian 
calling,  the  church  ordained  him,  and  the  charge  of  it  was 
entrusted  to  him,  that  by  reading  and  exhortation  he 
should  serve  them.  After  many  refusals  he  consented, 
1  Martyrology,  ii.  166.  *  Ibid.  357. 


228  BAPTIST  HISIORY. 

and  discharged  his  duty  with  fidelity,  and  employed  his 
talents  to  the  best  of  his  ability."^ 

''Jan  de  Swarte,  a  man  ot  excellent  character,  from 
Nipkerke,  and  his  wife  and  children,  came  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  and  were  united  to  the  church  of  God. 
lie  was  afterward  chosen  and  ordained  to  be  a  minister 
of  the  church.  In  this  office  he,  according  to  his  ability, 
and  in  meekness,  so  conducted  himself — not  only  as 
deacon  by  caring  for  the  poor,  but  also,  according  to  the 
gift  he  had  received  from  God,  in  the  dispensation  of  the 
word  of  exhortation — that  he  became  greatly  endeared  to 
all  that  knew  him."^  I  have  noticed  his  martyrdom  in  a 
previous  chapter. 

"  In  the  year  1560,  the  brother  Claes  Felbinger,  a  lock- 
smith, a  willing  servant  of  the  word  of  God — he  was 
then  on  trial — was  apprehended,"  and  put  to  death. 
This  brother  "  was  called  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel 
in  the  year  1556,  but  had  not  received  the  imposition  of 
hands."  ^  "  In  the  year  1562,  the  brother  Franciscus  van 
der  Sach,  a  native  of  Rovigo,  in  Italy,  a  minister  of  the 
word  of  God,  being  still  on  probation,  with  another,  his 
fellow- messenger,  named  Antonius  Walsch,  was  appre- 
hended at  Capo  d'lstria."  He  was  subsequently  drowned 
at  Venice,  as  I  have  befoi^e  stated.* 

The  following  cases  illustrate  the  statement  respecting 
the  dangers  attending  missionary  excursions  in  those  days. 
"In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1536,  Jeronimus  Kels,  of 
Kufstein,  with  Michiel  Zeepsieder,  of  Walt,  in  Bemen, 
and  Hans  Overacker,  of  Etschland,  were  commissioned 
to  go  into  the  earldom  of  the  Tyrol ;  but  being  come  to 

>  Martyrology,  ii.  240.  ^  /3,v/,  338. 

2  Ibid.  279.  *  3id.  335. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  229 

Vienna,  in  Austria,  they  were  seized,  having  been  be- 
trayed by  the  innkeeper  with  whom  they  lodged.  While 
at  supper,  the  people  there  sought  to  discern  who  they 
were  by  drinking  their  healths  ;  and  when  they  found  out 
their  views,  by  their  declining  to  respond  to  the  toasts, 
the  landlord  sent  for  paper,  and  wrote  a  letter  in  Latin., 
which,  among  other  words,  contained  the  following : 
•Here  are  three  persons,  who,  I  think,  are  all  Anabap- 
tists.' They  were  arrested,  and  died  in  the  fire  at  Vi- 
enna.'" In  1537,  "Juriaen  Vaser,  by  desire  of  some 
zealous  brethren,  was  sent  to  Pogstall,  in  Austria,  where 
he  joyfully  began  to  teach  the  word  of  the  Lord,  not- 
withstanding that  he  was  just  come  out  of  prison  at  Met- 
lyng.  He  gathered  the  faithful  together,  and  formed  a 
church  agreeably  to  God's  command.  But  he  could  not 
escape  the  foils  of  a  crafty  knave,  who,  feigning  a  desire 
to  learn  from  him,  as  a  minister,  the  nature  and  ground 
of  the  truth,  brought  with  him  many  servants,  whom  he 
ordered  to  lay  hold  and  capture  this  Juriaen  Vaser,  when 
a  suitable  opportunity  should  occur.  This  was  faithfully 
performed."^  Vaser  was  beheaded.  In  the  year  1545, 
"  Brother  Hans  Blietel,  having  been  sent  by  the  church 
to  Riet,  in  Bavaria,  was  there  apprehended  ;  for  money 
had  been  offered  by  them  of  Riet  to  any  one  that  should 
take  him.  There  was  in  consequence  a  traitor  who  gave 
him  good  words,  affected  much  zeal,  wished  ardently  to 
be  with  him,  and  drew  him  to  his  house.  The  brother 
thought  it  was  for  the  welfare  of  his  soul,  and  went  with 
him."  The  wretch  endeavored  to  extort  money  from 
him,  and,  failing  in  that,  betrayed  him  to  the  magistrates, 
who  condemned  him  to  the  flames.     "  When  the  dear 

1  Martyrology,  i.  157.  '  Ibid.  161. 

20 


230  BAPTIST  HIST  OR  r. 

brother  Hans  reached  the  place  of  execution  outside  the 
city,  he  thought  upon  the  church,  and  called  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  in  the  midst  of  the  assembled  people,  asking 
if  there  was  any  one  present  who  would  have  courage  to 
inform  the  church  of  God  in  Moravia,  that  '  I,  Hans 
Blietel,  have  been  burned  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel,  at 
Riet,  in  Bavaria.'  A  zealous  man,  full  of  piety,  then 
discovered  himself.  His  zeal  was  inflamed  by  this  ques- 
tion, and  as  he  could  not  get  near  Hans,  he  called  out  to 
him  and  said  that  he  would  tell  and  make  known  to  the 
church  in  Moravia  that  he  had  been  burned  at  Riet  for 
the  faith."  ^ 

'  Martyrology,  268.  The  Martyrology  is  an  abridgement  of  a  large 
folio  volume,  in  Dutch,  by  T.  J.  Van  Braght,  a  Mennonite  minister. 
The  first  edition  was  published  at  Dordrecht,  in  1660;  the  second,  illus- 
trated by  more  than  a  hundred  engravings,  at  Amsterdam,  in  1685.  A 
full  translation  of  the  work,  by  J.  Daniel  Rupp,  was  published  at  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  in  an  octavo  volume  of  1048  pages,  in  1837.  The 
late  Rev.  Benjamin  Millard,  of  Wigan,  was  the  author  of  the  translation 
'ssued  by  the  Hanserd  Knollys  Society. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Baptists  in  England — Proclamation  of  Henry  VIII. — Latimer's  Sermon 
before  Edward  VI. — Baptists  excepted  from  "Acts  of  Pardon" — 
Royal  Commissions  against  them — Ridley — Cranmer — Joan  Boucher 
— Rogers — Philpot — Bishop  Hooper's  Scruples — George  Van  Pare — 
Protestant  Persecutions  Inexcusable — Congregations  in  Essex  and 
Kent — Bonner — Gardiner — Disputations  in  Jail — Queen  Elizabeth's 
Proclamation  against  Baptists — Bishop  Jewel — Archbishop  Parker — 
Dutch  Baptists. 

WHEREVER  the  Reformation  prevailed,  Baptist 
sentiments  sprang  up  with  it.  So  it  was  in  Eng- 
land. In  1534,  when  Henry  VIII.  assumed  the  headship 
of  the  English  Church,  he  issued  two  proclamations 
against  heretics.  The  first  referred  to  certain  persons 
who  had  presumed  to  dispute  about  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper,  some  of  whom  were  foreigners :  these 
were  ordered  to  depart  the  realm  within  eight  or  ten 
days.  The  second  stated  more  explicitly  that  foreigners 
who  had  been  baptized  in  infancy,  but  had  renounced 
that  baptism  and  had  been  rebaptized,  had  entered  Eng- 
land, and  were  spreading  their  opinions  over  the  kingdom. 
They  were  commanded  to  withdraw  within  twelve  days, 
on  pain  of  suffering  death  if  they  remained.  Either  some 
of  them  did  remain,  or  others  visited  England  the  follovv- 

2Lii 


232  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

ing  years,  for  ten  were  burned,  by  pairs,  in  different 
places,  in  1535,  and  fourteen  more  in  1536.  In  1538, 
six  Dutch  Baptists  were  detected  and  imprisoned  ;  two 
of  them  were  burned.  Bishop  Latimer  refers  to  these 
circumstances  in  a  sermon  preached  before  Edward  VI., 
in  the  year  1549.  "  The  Anabaptists,"  said  he,  "  that 
were  burnt  here  in  divers  towns  in  England — as  I  heard 
of  credible  men,  I  saw  them  not  myself — went  to  their 
death  even  intrepide^  as  ye  will  say,  without  any  fear  in 
the  world,  cheerfully.  Well,  let  them  go."^  That  good 
man  was  blind  on  the  subject  of  religious  freedom,  as  the 
Reformers  generally  were.  He  and  his  fellow-laborers 
might  think  for  themselves  ;  but  if  others  ventured  to  do 
so,  and  thought  themselves  into  Baptist  principles,  the 
fire  was  ready  for  them,  and  even  Latimer  could  say, 
"Well,  let  them  go."  Let  us  be  thankful  that  the  "  times 
of  that  ignorance"  have  passed  away. 

There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  a  Baptist  church 
existed  in  Cheshire  at  a  much  earlier  period.  If  we  may 
credit  the  traditions  of  the  place,  the  church  at  Hill  Clifte 
is  five  hundred  years  old.  A  tombstone  has  been  lately 
dug  up  in  the  burial-ground  belonging  to  that  church, 
bearing  date  1357-  '^^^^  origin  of  the  church  is  assigned, 
in  the  "  Baptist  Manual,"  to  the  year  1523.  This,  how- 
ever, is  certain,  that  a  Mr.  Warburton,  pastor  of  the  church, 
died  there  in  1594.  How  long  the  church  had  been  then 
in  existence,  there  are  no  written  records  to  testify.* 

Henry  VIII.  had  a  keen  scent  for  heresy.  He  claimed 
to  be  an  infallible  judge  in  that  matter,  as  free  from  error 

^Sermons,  p.  160.     Parker  Society's  Edition. 

2  These  statements  are  made  on  the  authority  of  the  Rev.  A.  Ken* 
worthy,  the  present  pastor  of  the  church. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  233 

as  the  Pope  himself.  And  so  he  was,  no  doubt ;  the  one 
was  as  good  as  the  other.  Baptists  were  particularly  dis- 
tasteful to  him.  In  the  year  1538,  Peter  Tasch,  a  Bap- 
tist, was  apprehended  in  the  territories  of  the  landgrave 
of  Hesse.  It  M-as  discovered,  on  searching  him,  that  he 
was  in  correspondence  with  Baptists  in  England,  and 
expected  soon  to  go  thither  in  order  to  aid  them  in  propa- 
gating their  opinions.  The  landgrave  gave  information 
to  the  king,  who  immediately  appointed  a  commission, 
of  which  Cranmer  was  chairman,  charging  the  commis- 
sioners to  adopt  severe  measures  against  the  alleged 
heretics  if  they  should  be  detected,  to  burn  all  Baptist 
books,  and,  if  they  did  not  recant,  to  burn  the  Baptists 
tliemselves.  They  were  not  slow  to  obey  the  king's  com- 
mandments. On  the  24th  of  November,  three  men  and 
one  woman  escaped  the  fire  by  bearing  fagots  at  St. 
Paul's  Cross ;  that  is,  they  were  brought  before  the 
people,  assembled  opposite  the  great  cross  outside  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  London,  and  walked  in  procession, 
each  with  a  bundle  of  fagots  on  the  shoulder,  to  signify- 
that  they  had  deserved  to  be  burned  ;  after  which  they 
confessed  and  renounced  their  supposed  errors.  Three 
days  after  a  man  and  a  woman  were  committed  to  the 
flames  in  Smithfield.  All  these  were  natives  of  Holland. 
Fuller,  the  church  historian,  writes  of  them  in  his  pecu- 
liarly quaint  style.  He  says,  "  Dutchmen  flocked  faster 
than  formerly  into  England.  Many  of  these  had  active 
souls  ;  so  that  whilst  their  hands  were  busied  about  their 
manufactures,  their  heads  were  also  beating  about  points 
of  divinity.  Hereof  they  had  many  rude  notions,  too 
ignorant  to  manage  them  themselves,  and  too  proud  to 
crave  the  direction  of  others.  Their  minds  had  a  by- 
20  * 


234  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

stream  of  activity  more  than  what  sufficed  to  drive  on 
their  vocation  ;  and  this  waste  of  their  souls  they  em- 
ployed in  needless  speculations,  and  soon  after  began  to 
broach  their  strange  opinions,  being  branded  widi  the 
general  name  of  Anabaptists.'"  This  is  amusing  enough 
And  yet  it  is  a  melancholy  sp^ecimen  of  the  ignorance  in 
which  some  men,  otherwise  well-informed  and  even 
learned,  have  been  contented  to  remain.  Instead  of  ex- 
amining Baptist  sentiments  for  themselves,  they  have 
taken  them  at  second  hand,  and  pronounced  them  "need- 
less speculations"  and  "  strange  opinions." 

The  hatred  of  Baptists  was  farther  shown  by  excepting 
them  from  general  acts  of  pardon.  Such  acts  were  pub- 
lished in  1538,  1540,  and  1550 ;  but  those  who  held  that 
"  infants  ought  not  to  be  baptized"  were  excluded  from 
the  benefit.  Thieves  and  vagabonds  shared  the  king's 
favor,  but  Baptists  were  not  to  be  tolerated. 

Protestantism  nominally  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Ed- 
ward VI.  But  there  were  many  un-Protestant  doings. 
The  use  of  the  Reformed  liturgy  was  enforced  by  the  pains 
and  penalties  of  law.  Ridley,  himself,  a  martyr  in  the 
next  reign,  was  joined  in  a  commission  with  Gardiner, 
afterward  notorious  as  a  persecutor  of  Protestants,  to  root 
out  Baptists.  Among  the  "Aiticles  of  Visitation," 
issued  by  Ridley  in  his  own  diocese,  in  1550,  was  the 
following :  "  Whether  any  of  the  Anabaptists'  sect  or 
other,  use  notoriously  any  unlawful  or  private  conventi- 
cles, wherein  they  do  use  doctrines  or  administration  of 
sacraments,  separating  themselves  from  the  rest  of  the 
parish .'''  "     It  may  be  fairly  gathered   from  this  article 

I  Church  History,  book  v.  sect,  i,  11. 

*  Cardwell's  Docmnentary  Annals  of  tJu  Church  of  England,  i.  91. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  235 

that  there  were  Baptist  churches  in  the  kingdom  at  that 
time. 

A  royal  commission  was  issued  by  Edward  VI.,  em- 
powering thirty-one  persons  therein  named,  Cranmer  at 
the  head  and  Latimer  as  one  of  its  members,  to  pro- 
ceed against  all  heretics  and  contemners  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer.  The  "  wicked  opinions"  of  the  Bap- 
tists are  specifically  mentioned,  and  the  commissioners — or 
rather,  inquisitors^  for  such  they  were — were  directed, 
in  case  the  persons  accused  should  not  renounce  their 
errors,  to  deliver  them  up  to  the  secular  power,  that  is, 
to  death.  Joan  Boucher,  or  "Joan  of  Kent,"  as  she  was 
sometimes  called,  was  the  first  victim.  She  was  a  Chris- 
tian lady,  well  known  at  court,  and  very  zealous  in  her 
endeavors  to  introduce  Christian  truth  among  its  inmates. 
Strype  says,  "  She  was  at  first  a  great  disperser  of  Tin- 
dal's  new  Testaments,  translated  by  him  into  English, 
and  printed  at  Colen  [Cologne],  and  was  a  great  reader 
of  Scripture  herself;  which  books  she  also  dispersed  in 
the  court,  and  so  became  known  to  certain  women  of 
quality,  and  was  more  particularly  acquainted  with  Mrs. 
Anne  Ascue  [Anne  Askew,  cruelly  tortured,  and  after- 
ward burned  alive,  in  the  year  1546].  She  used,  for  the 
more  secresy,  to  tie  the  books  in  strings  under  her  ap- 
parel, and  so  passed  with  them  into  court."  ^  But  she 
maintained  the  opinion  held  by  many  of  the  foreign 
Baptists,  that  the  Redeemer,  though  born  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  truly  man,  did  not  take  flesh  of  the  substance 
of  her  body.  For  this  she  was  condemned  to  die.  A 
year  elapsed  between  the  trial  and  the  execution,  during 
which  many  efforts  were  employed,  but  in  vain,  to  con- 
'  Memorials  0/  the  Reformation,  ii.  368.     Edit,  1816. 


236  BAPTIST  HISTOnr. 

vince  her  of  her  error.  Archbishop  Cranmer,  Bishop 
Ridley,  and  others,  visited  her  frequently  for  that  purpose. 
It  was  at  length  determined  to  burn  her.  It  is  said  that 
the  young  king  hesitated  long,  and  would  not  have  con- 
sented that  the  warrant  should  be  issued  had  it  not  been 
for  the  persuasion  of  Cranmer.  He  wept  as  he  gave  his 
consent,  and  told  the  primate  that  he  must  answer  for  it 
at  the  bar  of  God,  if  it  should  prove  to  be  a  wrongful 
deed.  The  archbishop  did  not  relent.  The  final  sentence 
bears  his  name  and  that  of  Latimer.  On  the  2d  of  May, 
1550,  Joan  Boucher  was  burned  in  Smithfield.  Bishop 
Story  preached  on  the  occasion,  and,  as  Strype  says, 
"  tried  to  convert  her ;"  but  his  misrepresentations  and 
calumnies  were  so  gross  that  she  told  him  he  "  lied  like  a 
rogue,"  and  bade  him  "go  and  read  the  Scriptures."  It 
was  doubtless  needful  advice. 

John  Rogers,  who  was  the  first  martyr  in  Mary's  reign, 
approved  this  execution.  When  some  one  remonstrated 
with  him  on  the  subject,  and  particularly  urged  the 
cruelty  of  the  mode  of  death,  he  replied  that  "  burning 
alive  was  no  cruel  death,  but  easy  enough."  Archdeacon 
Philpot,  in  his  sixth  examination  before  the  queen's  com- 
missioners, Nov.  6,  1555,  six  weeks  before  his  own  mar- 
tyrdom, said,  "As  for  Joan  of  Kent,  she  was  a  vain 
woman  (I  knew  her  well),  and  a  heretic  indeed,  ivell 
'Worthy  to  be  burnt" ^  It  is  distressing  to  record  such 
utterances. 

In  Edward  the  Sixth's  time  Hooper  was  appointed 
bishop  of  Gloucester.  His  consecration  was  delayed  for 
faome  months  on  account  of  his  scruples  against  the  epis- 

1  E^mminations  and  Writings,  p.  55.     Parker  Society's  Edition. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  237 

copal  habits,  which  he  justly  regarded  as  popish.  He 
had  learned  the  truth,  which  is  known  now  as  an  element- 
ary principle,  but  was  then  little  understood,  except  by 
Baptists,  that  in  the  service  of  the  church  nothing  should 
be  admitted  for  which  we  cannot  adduce  apostolic  ]ite- 
cept  or  precedent,  or  which  is  contrary  to  any  apostolic 
teaching.  He  was  unwilling  to  defer  to  church  authority 
or  long-continued  custom.  Ridley  was  astonished  at  his 
brother's  difficulties.  In  writing  on  the  subject  he  af- 
fected to  be  very  logical,  and  he  was  not  sparing  in  rhe- 
torical flourishes,  but  there  was  more  sophistical  declama- 
tion than  either  logic  or  rhetoric.  Thus  the  bishop 
writes  :  "  If  this  reason  should  take  place,  '  The  apostles 
used  it  not,  ergo  it  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  use  it' — or  this 
either,  '  They  did  it,  ergo  we  must  needs  do  it' — then  all 
Christians  must  have  no  place  abiding,  all  must,  under 
pain  of  damnation,  depart  with  [part  from]  their  pos- 
sessions, as  Peter  said  they  did  ['  Behold,  we  have  left 
all  things,'  etc.] ;  we  may  have  no  ministration  of 
Christ's  sacraments  in  churches,  for  they  had  no  churches, 
but  were  fain  to  do  all  in  their  own  houses ;  we  must 
baptize  abroad  in  the  fields,  as  the  apostles  did  ;  we  may 
not  receive  the  holy  communion  but  at  supper,  and  with 
Uie  table  furnished  with  other  meats,  as  the  Anabaptists 
do  now  stiffly  and  obstinately  affirm  that  it  should 
be  ;  our  naming  of  the  child  in  baptism,  our  prayer  upon 
him,  our  crossing,  and  our  threefold  ab-renunciation,  and 
our  white  chrisom  [or  vesture],  all  must  be  left,  for  these 
we  cannot  prove  by  God's  word,  that  the  apostles  did  use 
them.  And,  if  to  do  anything  which  we  cannot  prove 
they  did  be  sin,  then  a  greatest  part  is  sin  that  we  do  daily 
in  baptism.     What  followeth  then  other  things,  than  to 


238  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

receive  the  Anabaptists'  opinion,  and  to  be  baptized 
anew?     Oh,  wicked  folly  and  blind  ignorancy  !"  ^ 

Ridley's  argument  was,  "If  you  take  such  ground,  you 
had  better  become  an  Anabaptist  at  once.  But  thit 
would  be  a  shocking  thing.  Therefore  you  must  admit, 
in  these  things,  the  authority  of  the  church,  and  yield 
submission  to  it."  So,  in  utter  contradiction  to  true 
Protestantism,  did  the  bishop  reason.  The  other  alter- 
native, viz.,  that  the  Baptists  were  right,  which  ought 
to  have  been  granted,  he  either  had  not  eyes  to  see  or 
honesty  to  admit. 

One  point  adverted  to  by  Ridley  may  require  explana- 
tion. The  Baptists,  according  to  him,  taught  that  the 
Lord's  supper  should  be  celebrated  at  the  close  of  a  meal. 
Their  practice,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  agreed  with  the 
theory.  They  observed  that  the  ordinance  was  instituted 
while  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  were  still  at  the  Pass- 
over supper-table  ;  and  they  inferred  that  the  Lord's  sup- 
per should  be  preceded  by  a  meal,  taken  in  common  by 
the  assembled  disciples.  We  may  think  them  mistaken, 
but  this  is  clear,  that  the  Baptists  evinced  therein  their 
scrupulous  regard  to  the  directions,  express  or  implied, 
of  the  word  of  God.  Positive  institutions  should  be  ob- 
served, in  their  judgment — and  were  they  not  right,'' — as 
nearly  as  possible  in  the  exact  manner  in  which  they  were 
enjoined.  The  original  precept  should  be  literally  obeyed, 
tho  original  precedents  followed.  This  is  the  charac- 
teiistic  distinction  of  the  Baptist  body.  Can  it  be  con- 
tioverted  } 

George  Van   Pare,  a    Dutch   Baptist,  was  burned  in 

"  Reply  to  Bishop  Hooper  in  Bradford''s  Letters,  Treatises,  etc.,  p. 
3S2.     Parker  Society. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  239 

Smithfield  on  the  13th  of  January,  1551.  He  was  charged 
with  Arianisnni,  but  it  is  testified  that  he  was  a  man  of 
feivent  piety  and  active  benevolence.  His  behavior  at 
the  stake  was  eminently  Christian.  The  condemna- 
tory sentence  was  signed  by  Cranmer,  Ridley,  and  Cov- 
erdale  ! 

Whatever  opinion  we  may  entertain  respecting  the 
doctrinal  views  held  by  Joan  Boucher  and  Van  Pare, 
there  can  be  no  difficulty  in  deciding  on  the  conduct  of 
Cranmer  and  his  associates.  Nor  need  we  seek  excuses 
for  them.  It  is  customary  to  plead  in  their  behalf  the 
general  prevalence,  in  that  age,  of  Church-and-State 
principles  of  the  most  ultra  kind,  and  to  maintain  that 
at  a  time  when  everybody  believed  that  the  magistrate 
was  bound  to  do  the  church's  bidding,  and,  therefore,  to 
rid  the  country  of  those  whom_^  the  church  might  con- 
demn, it  could  not  be  expected  that  any  ecclesiastics 
would  differ  from  their  brethren,  or  be  disinclined  to 
carry  out  the  common  policy.  I  am  not  disposed  to  ad- 
mit the  force  of  this  reasoning.  The  Apostle  Paul 
"  verily  thought  within  himself  that  he  ought  to  do  many 
things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth"  (Acts 
xxvi.  9)  :  but  neither  did  he,  after  he  became  a  Christian, 
nor  do  we,  who  walk  in  the  light  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, justify  the  desolation  he  caused  at  Jerusalem,  on  the 
ground  of  his  ignorance  and  prejudice.  He  might  and 
he  ought  to  have  known  better,  and  it  was  his  sin  that  he 
did  not  inquire  impartially  respecting  Christianity  before 
he  persecuted  it.  So  it  was  with  Cranmer,  Calvin,  and 
other  Protestant  persecutors.  Rome  had  trained  them  in 
savageness.  But  she  had  also  brought  them  up  in  the 
fooleries  of  her  superstition,  and  instructed  them  to  cleave 


240  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

to  will-worship  and  merit  When  they  forsook  those 
sandy  foundations,  that  they  might  build  on  Christ,  it  was 
because  they  had  learned  from  the  New  Testament  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  Why  did  they  not  also 
derive  from  the  same  New  Testament  the  great  truth  that 
the  kingdom  of  the  Saviour  is  "  not  of  this  world,"  and 
that,  therefore,  the  use  of  carnal  weapons  in  its  propaga- 
tion or  defence  is  absolutely  forbidden?  These  truths 
were  as  fully  taught  by  the  apostles  as  were  the  doctrines 
of  faith  and  grace.  The  Baptists  were  clear  on  these 
subjects.  They  understood  the  nature  and  limitations  of 
magisterial  rule.     They  anticipated  Dr.  Watts : 

"  Let  Caesar's  dues  be  ever  paid 
To  Caesar  and  his  throne  ; 
But  consciences  and  souls  were  made 
To  be  the  Lord's  alone." 

They  acted  on  their  convictions,  and  withdrew  from  a 
corrupt  church  to  worship  God  according  to  his  word. 
In  doing  so  they  committed  no  crime  against  the  state. 
For  that  act  they  were  responsible  to  God  only.  The 
state  had  no  control  over  them.  As  long  as  they  were 
peaceable  subjects  and  obeyed  the  laws,  they  rightfully 
claimed  protection.  In  regard  to  religion,  they  rightfully 
demanded  freedom  and  independence.  The  Reformers 
had  put  forth  the  same  demand  in  seceding  from  Rome. 
It  is  true  that  they  coupled  with  it  the  false  step  of  asking 
leave  of  the  civil  magistrate  to  secede,  and  having  fallen 
into  that  error,  required  that  no  one  should  secede  from 
them^  because  the  magistrate,  as  tutored  by  them,  forbade 
it.  But,  I  ask  again,  where  was  the  New  Testament  all 
the  while.?  and  how  was  it  that  they  did  not  see  in  it  the 
spiritual  church — and  the  spiritual  King — and  the  absolute 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  241 

unlawfulness  of  calling  for  "  fire  from  heaven,"  or  devis- 
ing other  mischief  against  those  w^ho  differed  from  them  ? 
The  Baptists  saw  all  this.  Cranmer  and  his  party  might 
have  seen  it.  In  refusing  to  see  it  they  were  guilty  of 
treachery  to  Protestant  principles. 

But  they  could  not  put  down  the  Baptists,  who  grew 
and  flourished  in  spite  of  them.  Congregations  were  dis- 
covered at  Bocking  in  Essex,  at  Feversham  in  Kent,  and 
other  places.  Their  number  must  have  been  consider- 
able, as  four  ministers  were  arrested  when  the  discovery 
was  made.     The  names  of  the  ministers  were  Humphrey 

Middleton,  Henry  Hart,  George  Brodebridge,  and - 

Cole.  At  the  time  of  their  apprehension  they  were  as- 
sembled at  Bocking.  Besides  the  ministers,  about  sixty 
members  of  the  congregation  were  apprehended.  Their 
Christian  organization  appears  to  have  been  correct  and 
complete.  They  met  regularly  for  worship  and  instruc- 
tion ;  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  were  attended  to  ;  con- 
tributions were  made  for  the  support  of  the  cause  ;  and 
so  great  was  their  zeal  that  those  w4io  lived  in  Kent  were 
known  to  go  occasionally  into  Essex  to  meet  the  brethren 
there — a  journey  of  fourscore  miles,  which,  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  was  no  small  undertaking.  When  they 
were  brought  into  the  ecclesiastical  court,  they  were  ex- 
amined on  forty-six  articles,  and  charged  with  Pelagian- 
ism  and  other  errors.  Their  religious  sentiments,  or  those 
imputed  to  them,  would  be  now  called  Arminian.  This, 
however,  is  clear,  that  they  were  "Anabaptists."  They 
held  also  "  that  we  are  not  to  communicate  w'ith  sinners." 
In  other  words,  they  advocated  believer's  baptism,  and 
contended  for  the  purity  of  Christian  churches.  What 
became  of  the  others  I  do  not  know,  but  Mr.  Middleton 
21 


242  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

was  committed  to  prison,  where  he  remained  till  the  death 
of  Edward  VI.  The  Kentish  members  of  these  congre- 
gations suffered  continual  annoyance  and  persecution  in 
various  ways.  Cranmer  did  all  he  could  to  suppress  the 
Baptist  movement. 

We  cannot  but  regret  that  so  little  is  known  of  this  in- 
teresting band  of  disciples.  Strype  asserts  that  they 
"  were  the  first  that  made  separation  from  the  Reformed 
Church  of  England,  having  gathered  congregations  of 
their  own."  As  they  confessed  that  they  had  not  com- 
muned in  the  parish  churches  for  two  years,  their  separa- 
tion must  have  taken  place  about  the  year  1548,  which 
was  before  the  Presbyterians  or  Independents  were  known 
in  England.  The  Baptists  were  the  vanguard  of  the 
Protestant  Dissenters  in  that  country.^ 

There  were  many  Baptists  among  the  sufferers  in  Qiieen 
Mary's  reign.  Some  endured  painful  imprisonments ; 
some  passed  to  heaven  through  the  fire.  Humphrey 
Middleton,  one  of  the  ministers  mentioned  above,  was 
burned  at  Canterbury,  July  12,  1555.  We  should  have 
known  more  about  these  good  men  had  the  historians  of 
the  times  been  more  faithful.  Even  the  venerable  John 
Fox  allowed  his  prejudices  so  far  to  influence  him  that  he 
kept  back  information  respecting  Baptist  martyrs.  But 
"  their  record  is  on  high." 

Bishop  Bonner  bestirred  himself  diligently.  In  his 
"  Articles  of  Visitation,"  issued  in  the  year  1554,  he  di- 
rected inquiry  to  be  made — "  whether  there  be  any  that 
is  a  Sacramentary  or  Anabaptist,  or  libertine,  either  in 
reiterating  baptism  again,  or  in  holding  any  of  the  opin- 

1  Strype's  Memorials,  ii.  38 1.  Baptist  Magazine,  February,  1866,  pp, 
113-115. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  243 

ions  of  the  Anabaptists,  especially  that  a  Chr-stian  man 
or  woman  ought  not  to  swear  before  a  judge,  nor  one  to 
sue  another  in  the  law  for  his  right,  and  that  all  things 
should  be  common."^  The  ^jist  item,  we  need  here  only 
say,  was  a  calumny — or  rather,  perhaps,  a  misapprehen- 
sion of  the  brotherly  hospitality  tht.t  prevailed  among  the 
Baptists.  In  a  "  declaration  to  be  published  to  the  lay 
people  of  his  diocese  concerning  their  reconciliation,"  he 
affirmed  that  England  had  been  "  grievously  vexed"  and 
"  sore  infested"  with  "  sundry  sorts  of  sects  of  heresies," 
among  which  he  expressly  mentions  "Anabaptists."* 
Next  year  he  published  a  book  of  homilies,  in  one  of 
which  he  warned  the  people  against  the  Baptists.  "Cer- 
tain heresies,"  said  he,  "  have  risen  up  and  sprung  in  our 
days,  against  the  christening  of  infants" — a  practice  which 
"  the  most  wholesome  authority  of  the  church  doth  com- 
mand."* 

Bishop  Gardiner  was  chancellor  of  the  university  of 
Cambridge.  In  1555  he  published  fifteen  articles,  which 
were  to  be  signed  by  all  persons  desirous  of  enjoying  the 
privileges  of  the  university.  The  fourth  was  to  this 
eflect,  that  "baptism  is  necessary  to  salvation,  even  for 
infants ;  that  all  sin,  actual  as  well  as  original,  is  taken 
away  and  entirely  destroyed,  in  baptism  ;  and  that  the 
said  baptism  is  never  to  be  repeated."*  This  language 
betrays  the  existence  of  Baptists  in  Cambridge,  and  the 
bishop's  fear  lest  persons  holding  their  opinions  should 
repair  thither  for  education  from  other  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. 

1  Doaintentary  Annals,  ii.  156.  ^  Ihid.  ii.  1 70. 

s  Underbill's  "Historical  Introduction"  to   Tracts  on  Liberty  of  Cotk 
tcience,  p.  cxxv. 
*  Documentary  Annals,  i.  195. 


244  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Henry  Hart,  one  of  Humphrey  Middleton's  colleagues, 
was  committed  to  the  King's  Bench  prison,  London,  with 
other  Baptists.  The  prisons  of  the  metropolis  wei^e 
crowded  with  Protestants  at  that  time,  many  of  whom, 
such  as  Bradford,  Philpot,  and  others,  glorified  God  in 
the  flames.  But  the  spirit  of  disputation  was  so  powerful 
in  them  that  there  was  hot  controversy  m  the  very  jails. 
Mr.  Hart  and  his  friends,  as  I  have  before  observed,  dif- 
fered from  other  Reformers  on  what  is  called  the  Armin- 
ian  question.  Those  differences  led  to  fierce  disputes, 
and  occasioned  considerable  loss  of  temper.  Ridley, 
Bradford,  and  Philpot  were  men  eminent  for  piety ;  we 
venerate  them  to  this  day ;  their  names  will  be  fragrant 
in  all  time  coming.  But  in  their  zeal  for  truth  they  some- 
times forgot  the  claims  of  charity,  and  in  reference  to 
baptism  they  held  and  inculcated  tenets  of  a  truly  un- 
Protestant  character.  Philpot  must  surely  have  felt  the 
weakness  of  his  cause  when  he  pleaded  thus  :  "  Since  all 
truth  was  taught  and  revealed  to  the  primitive  church, 
which  is  our  mother,  let  us  all  that  be  obedient  children 
of  God,  submit  ourselves  to  the  judgment  of  the  church 
for  the  better  understanding  of  the  articles  of  our  faith 
and  of  the  doubtful  sentences  of  the  Scripture.  Let  us 
not  go  about  to  show  in  us,  by  following  any  private 
man's  interpretation  upon  the  word,  another  spirit  than 
they  of  the  primitive  church  had,  lest  we  deceive  our» 
selves  ;  for  there  is  but  one  faith  a  id  one  Spirit,  which  is 
not  contrary  to  himself,  neither  otherwise  now  teacheth 
us  than  he  did  them.  Therefore  let  us  believe  as  they 
have  taught  us  of  the  Scriptures,  and  be  at  peace  with  them, 
according  as  the  true  catholic  church  is  at  this  day."^ 
*  Examinations  and  Writings,  p.  273. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  245 

Notwithstanding  the  vigihmt  ferocity  of  Bonner  and 
his  associates,  the  Baptists  held  their  ground  in  Kent  and 
Essex,  and  it  was  found  impossible  to  root  them  out. 
Commissioners  were  sent  to  Colchester  in  1558,  with  full 
power  to  proceed  against  heretics,  and  they  had  entered 
on  their  duties  with  activity  and  ardor,  hoping  to  make  a 
thorough  clearance,  when,  for  some  unexplained  reason, 
a  letter  of  recall  was  despatched.  Dr.  Chedsey,  one  of 
the  commissioners,  expressed  his  feelings  on  the  occasion 
in  the  language  of  an  inquisitor's  regret.  He  was  vexed 
at  the. loss  of  his  prey.  "We  be  now,"  he  said,  writing 
to  the  Privy  Council,  "  in  the  midst  of  our  examination 
and  articulation.  And  if  we  should  give  it  oft'  in  the 
midst,  we  should  set  the  country  in  such  a  roar  that  my 
estimation,  and  the  residue  of  the  commissioners,  shall 
be  for  ever  lost.  .  .  .  Would  to  God  the  honorable  council 
saw  the  face  of  Essex  as  we  do  see.  We  have  such  ob- 
stinate heretics,  Anabaptists,  and  other  unruly  persons 
here,  as  never  was  heard  of." ' 

Bradford,  as  I  have  said,  was  one  of  those  who  dis- 
puted, while  in  prison,  with  his  fellow-sufferers,  ^e  was 
ingenuous  enough  to  acknowledge  that  though  he  re- 
garded them  as  heterodox  in  their  opinions,  they  were 
men  of  unquestionable  and  even  signal  piety:  "  he  was 
persuaded  of  them  that  they  feared  the  Lord,  and  there- 
fore he  loved  them." 

No  sooner  had  Elizabeth  ascended  the  throne  than  suet 
began  to  display  the  despotic  tendencies  by  which  her  reign 
was  distinguished.  In  that  respect  she  closely  resembled 
her  father.  She  would  reform,  to  a  certain  extent,  but 
not  so  far  as  to  allow  her  subjects  to  think  and  act  for 
'  Strype's  Memorials,  v.  265. 
21* 


246  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

themselves.  She  would  prescribe  to  them  what  they 
should  believe,  and  how  they  should  worship,  under  pen- 
alty of  her  high  displeasure  if  they  dared  to  go  beyond 
the  allotted  bounds.  The  nation  generally  submitted  in 
meekness.  Some  few  chafed  under  the  yoke,  yet  con- 
tinued to  wear  it.  Others  remonstated  against  ecclesi* 
astical  impositions,  and  asked  for  freedom  in  things 
indifferent.  It  seemed  to  them  a  monstrous  thing,  es- 
pecially at  a  time  when  there  were  so  few  able  and  faith- 
ful ministers,  to  demand  rigorous  uniformity,  not  only  in 
theological  opinions,  but  also  in  the  cut  and  wear  of  caps 
and  gowns,  and  in  liturgical  services.  But  Elizabeth 
was  not  to  be  diverted  from  her  purpose.  She  had  made 
up  her  mind  to  go  so  far  and  no  farther.  And  she  was 
determined,  as  far  as  lay  in  her  power,  to  check  the 
progress  of  her  subjects.  The  "Act  of  Uniformity," 
passed  in  the  year  1559,  declared  her  will  and  defined 
their  duty.  The  Puritan  clergy  grumbled,  but  the  queen 
said  "  Silence  !"  And  so  it  was.  They  must  be  silent 
or  withdraw ;  and  if,  having  withdrawn,  they  reduced 
their  reforming  principles  to  practice,  they  incurred  all 
the  terrors  of  the  High  Commission  Court. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Baptists  would  find  any 
favor  with  Elizabeth.  Many  had  fled  from  foreign  coun- 
tries to  England,  hoping  to  enjoy  there  the  peace  and 
freedom  elsewhere  denied  them.  They  had  settled  chiefly 
in  London  and  "  other  maritime  towns."  But  the  queen 
would  not  suffer  them  to  remain.  A  proclamation  was 
issued,  September  2d,  1560,  declaring  that  her  majesty 
"  willeth  and  chargeth  all  manner  of  persons,  born  either 
in  foreign  parts  or  in  her  majesty's  dominions,  that  have 
conceived  any  manner  of  such  heretical  opinion  as  the 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  247 

Anabaptists  do  hold,  and  mean  not  by  charitable  teach- 
ing to  be  reconciled,  to  depart  out  of  this  realm  within 
twenty  days  after  this  proclamation,  upon  pain  of  for- 
feiture of  all  their  goods  and  chattels,  and  to  be  impris- 
oned and  further  punished  as  by  the  laws,  either  eccle- 
siastical or  temporal,  in  such  case  is  provided."  ^  This 
was  a  severe  and  cruel,  measure.  In  those  days  of  slow 
traveling,  the  proclamation  would  not  reach  some  of  the 
outposts  till  the  twenty  days  had  nearly  expired  ;  and  the 
poor  people  would  have  little  time  to  dispose  of  their 
immovable  property,  and  of  such  goods  as  they  could 
not  conveniently  take  away  with  them.  In  all  cases  there 
was  doubtless  a  great  sacrifice. 

Bishop  Jewel  supposed  that  the  hated  sectarians  were 
effectually  got  rid  of.  Writing  to  Peter  Martyr,  under 
date  of  November  6,  1560,  he  said:  "We  found  at  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  a  large  and  inaus- 
picious corps  of  Arians,  Anabaptists,  and  other  pests, 
which  I  know  not  how,  but  as  mushrooms  spring  up  in 
the  night  and  in  darkness,  so  these  sprang  up  in  that 
darkness  and  unhappy  night  of  the  Marian  times.  These, 
I  am  informed,  and  I  hope  it  is  the  fact,  have  retreated 
before  the  light  of  purer  doctrine,  like  owls  at  the  sight 
of  the  sun,  and  are  now  nowhere  to  be  found  ;  or,  at 
least,  if  anywhei-e,  they  are  no  longer  troublesome  to  our 
churches."'^  But  he  was  mistaken.  Many  Baptists  con- 
trived to  elude  the  proclamation.  Next  year,  Parkhurst, 
bishop  of  Norwich,  was  complained  of  by  Secretary 
Cecil   for   "winking    at   schismatics   and   Anabaptists."* 

1  Documentary  Attnals,  i.  293. 

*  Zurichs  Letters,  i.  92.     Parker  Society. 

'  Documentary  Annals,  i.  338. 


»48  BAPTIST  HIST  OR  r. 

Six  years  after,  1567,  "Articles  of  Visitation"  were  is- 
sued by  Archbishop  Parker,  in  which  it  was  directed  that 
inquiry  should  be  made  whether  any  persons  did  "  say, 
teach,  or  maintain,  that  children,  being  infants,  should 
not  be  baptized."  ^  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  persons 
holding  those  views  were  still  in  the  realm.  And  they 
continu'jd  to  seek  shelter  in  England  from  persecution, 
while  tne  queen  and  her  minions  were  indefatigable  in 
attempts  to  ferret  them  out  and  drive  them  away.  An- 
other proclamation  appeared  in  156S,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  "  great  numbers  of  strangers  from  the  parts  beyond 
the  seas,"  some  of  whom  were  supposed  to  be  "  Anabap- 
tists," did  "  daily  repair  to  her  Majesty's  dominions,  but 
that  she  did  '  in  nowise  mean  to  permit  any  refuge' to 
them."  ^  Permitted  or  not,  however,  they  were  there, 
and  they  were  neither  idle  nor  unsuccessful.  Collier,  the 
ecclesiastical  historian,  says,  "  The  Dutch  Anabaptists 
held  private  conventicles  in  London,  and  perverted  a 
great  many." ' 

^  Documentary  Annals,  340.  ^  jHfj^  241. 

3  Ecclesiastical  History  of  England,  vi,  162. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Enormities  Perpetrated  at  Munster  and  other  Places— Injustice  of 
Ascribing  them  to  Baptist  Sentiments. 

MUCH  has  been  said  of  tlie  black  deeds  of  Munster 
in  the  year  1554,  and  of  some  transactions  of  a 
simihir  kind  in  Holland  about  the  same  time.  Perhaps 
some  readers  have  been  taught  to  consider  those  events 
as  deeply  disgraceful  to  the  Baptist  cause. 

I  have  no  wish  to  throw  a  veil  over  that  part  of  the 
history.  Let  the  facts  be  set  forth  in  all  their  horrid 
enormity,  as  Pcedobaptist  historians  have  portraj-ed  them. 
Then  let  them  be  fairly  contetnplated  in  the  light  of  im- 
partial truth. 

The  facts  must  first  be  stated.  There  had  been  fierce 
contests  in  Westphalia  between  the  Roman  Catholic 
authorities  and  the  Protestants.  The  former  would  have 
exterminated  the  latter,  but  their  numbers  and  their 
power  preven'ied  it.  Their  suj^eriority  over  then-  oppo- 
nents was  shown  in  the  terms  of  the  agreement  which 
had  been  recently  entered  into  between  them  and  the 
bishop  of  Munster,  who  was  also  its  prince.  The  Prot- 
estants secured  for  their  worship  the  six  parish  churches, 
leaving    to   the    bishop    and    his   co-religionists    only   the 

249 


25°  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

cathedral  and  a  monastery.  The  bishop,  however,  had 
left  the  city,  not  choosing  to  remain  there  under  such 
circumstances.  It  could  not  be  surprising  that  Munster 
became  the  resort  of  many  religious  fugitives,  whom  per- 
secution had  driven  from  their  homes,  and  who  hoped  to 
find  a  peaceful  and  safe  refuge  in  that  city.  Nor  could 
it  be  wondered  at,  in  that  age  of  excitement,  that  among 
the  fugitives  were  found  men  of  discordant  and  even  out- 
rageous opinions.  Some  of  them  were  Baptists.  Roth- 
man,  one  of  the  Reformed  preachers,  and  a  man  of  high 
repute  and  great  influence,  embraced  their  views,  and 
their  numbers  were  daily  increased,  both  by  immigration 
and  conversion.  Just  at  that  time,  in  January,  1534,  Jan 
Matthys  and  Jan  Bockelson  arrived  at  Minister.  They 
were  fiery  fanatics,  strong  in  the  belief  that  the  restora- 
tion of  all  things  was  at  hand,  that  the  Lord's  kingdom 
was  to  be  established  by  the  sword,  that  the  saints  were 
to  take  possession  of  the  earth,  and  that  they  and  their 
associates  were  the  saints.  Bernhard  KnipperdoUing,  a 
wealthy  burgher,  invited  them  to  his  house,  and  entered 
into  all  their  schemes.  The  fruits  of  their  activity  were 
soon  manifest.  Proselytes  multiplied  on  every  hand.  At 
length  they  had  secured  the  adhesion  of  the  majority  of 
the  inhabitants.  Tumults  and  conflicts  followed,  and  the 
result  was  the  expulsion  of  all  who  would  not  favor  the 
designs  of  Matthys  and  Bockelson.  The  remainder  of 
the  narrative  shall  be  given  substantially  in  the  words  of 
Ranke,  the  well-known  modern  historian  : 

"  The  Anabaptists  were  thus  not  only  the  masters  of 
the  city,  but  its  sole  occupants.  What  their  adversaries 
had  scrupled  to  do  to  them,  they  inflicted  with  fanatical 
eagerness.     They   divided   the    city  among   themselves; 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  25 1 

and  communities  from  diflerent  parts  of  the  country 
took  possession  of  the  religious  houses.  The  movable 
property  of  the  exiles  was  collected  together,  and  seven 
deacons  were  appointed  by  Matthys  to  distribute  it 
gradually  to  the  faithful,  according  to  their  several  ne- 
cessities." 

All  the  pictures  and  statues  in  the  cathedral,  works  of 
art  generally,  and  even  musical  instruments,  were  de- 
stroyed. "  The  rule  which  had  been  laid  down  as  to  the 
property  of  the  exiles  was  very  soon  applied  to  the  pos- 
sessions of  the  faithful.  They  were  ordered,  under  pain 
of  death,  to  deliver  up  their  gold  and  silver,  their  jewels 
and  effects,  to  the  chancery,  for  the  common  consump- 
tion. .  .  .  While  the  idea  of  property  was  abolished,  each 
man  was  to  continue  to  exercise  his  craft.  Regulations 
are  extant,  in  which  journeymen  shoemakers  and  tailors 
are  specially  mentioned  ;  the  latter  being  enjoined  to  take 
heed  that  no  new  garment  or  fashion  be  introduced.  .  .  . 
Meat  and  drink  were  provided  at  the  common  cost ;  the 
two  sexes,  'brethren  and  sisters,"  sat  apart  from  each 
other  at  meals  ;  they  ate  in  silence,  while  one  read  aloud 
a  chapter  from  the  Bible." 

Matthys  being  killed  in  a  tumult,  Bockelson  took  upon 
himself  the  management  of  affairs.  He  soon  showed 
symptoms  of  the  vnldest  fanaticism.  At  first  he  assumed 
the  name  and  ofhce  of  the  prophet.  He  was  a  second 
Moses — the  people  were  the  "  new  Israel" — twelve  elders 
were  appointed  to  judge  them.  "  Six  were  to  sit  to  ad- 
minister justice  every  morning  and  afternoon  ;  the  prophet 
Jan  Bockelson  was  to  proclaim  their  sentences  to  the 
whole  people  of  Israel,  and  Knippcrdolling  to  execute 
them  with  the  sword."     A  table  of  laws  was  prepared, 


*52  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

drawn  chiefly  from  the  books  of  Moses.  Unconditional 
submission  was  required.  If  any  refused  it,  they  were 
denounced  as  the  "  wicked,"  who  were  to  be  "  rooted  out 
of  the  earth,"  and  Knipperdolling  was  authorized  to  put 
them  to  death  at  once  without  trial.  "  Preceded  by  four 
heralds,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  he  traversed  the 
streets,  carrying  terror  wherever  he  went." 

Bockelson's  next  step  was  to  introduce  polygamy.  He 
married  Matthj's'  widow,  and  many  more  women.  The 
contagion  spread.  Rothman,  the  preacher,  took  four 
wives.  All  tl>e  females  in  the  city  were  soon  appropri- 
ated. 

The  climax  was  reached  when  Bockelson  procured 
himself  to  be  appointed  king.  The  millennium,  it  was 
said,  was  just  at  hand.  Christ  would  then  reign  with  his 
saints  over  the  whole  earth  for  a  thousand  years.  "  The 
kingdom  of  Munster  would  endure  until  the  commence- 
ment of  that  millennium,  and  ought  therefore  to  fore- 
shadow it,  and  be  an  image  of  it."  Bockelson  declared 
"that  in  him  the  kingdom  announced  by  Christ  was  in- 
contestably  come — that  he  sat  upon  the  throne  of  David. 
He  wore  round  his  neck  a  chain  of  gold,  to  which  hung 
the  symbol  of  his  dominion — a  golden  globe  transfixed 
with  two  swords,  the  one  of  gold,  the  other  of  silver, 
above  the  handles  of  which  was  a  cross."  Thrice  a  week 
he  appeared  in  the  market-place,  thus  attired,  and  ad- 
ministered justice.  As  he  rode  through  the  city,  all  per- 
sons were  required  to  fall  on  their  knees  at  his  approach. 

On  one  occasion,  when  the  Lord's  supper  was  cele- 
brated by  the  whole  population,  Bockelson  fancied  that 
one  of  the  persons  present  "  had  not  on  a  wedding  gar- 
ment."    He  ordered  him  out,  followed  him,  cut  off  his 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  253 

head,  and  then  "  returned  cheerful  and  delightful  to  the 
feast."  At  another  time,  one  of  his  wives  having  deter- 
mined to  leave  him,  he  led  her  into  the  market-place,  be- 
headed her  with  his  own  hands,  and  induced  his  other 
wives  to  dance  round  the  corpse,  exclaiming,  "  To  God 
alone  in  the  highest  be  honor." 

It  did  not  last  long.  The  bishop  of  Munster,  aided  by 
some  of  the  German  princes,  besieged  the  city.  Tre- 
mendous sufferings  were  endured  by  the  inhabitants,  nnd 
great  numbers  died  of  starvation.  At  length  the  city  was 
taken  by  assault.  A  fearful  carnage  took  place.  Roth- 
man  and  other  leaders  were  killed.  Bockelson,  Knip- 
perdolling,  and  another  were  taken  prisoners,  and  torn 
to  death  by  red-hot  pincers.  The  Baptists  who  remained 
alive  were  banished  ;  not  one  was  allowed,  not  even  a 
woman,  to  live  in  Munster.^ 

While  these  things  were  taking  place  at  Munster,  simi- 
lar outrages  were  attempted  in  Holland,  particularly  at 
Leyden  and  Amsterdam,  in  which  cities  certain  Anabap- 
tists, so  called,  endeavored  to  effect  revolutions  and  to 
set  up  the  new  kingdom.  Extravagance  and  immoralities 
marked  their  pi-oceedings,  as  at  Munster,  but  they  were 
fortunately  unsuccessful. 

The  question  now  arises,  How  far  were  the  Baptists, 
as  a  religious  body,  responsible  for  these  transactions  ? 
To  this  I  reply  : 

I.  Thf  ■:  not  only  among  the  Baptists,  but  also  among 
other  Reformers  of  that  age,  there  were  persons  who  were 
led  away  by  wild  notions  and  unaccountable  delusions. 
It  was  a  time  of  universal  excitement — of  new  thoughts 
and  nesv  feelings.     In   the   sudden  transition   from  gross 

1  Ranke's  History  of  the  Rcfoi-mation  in  Germany,  book  vi,  chap.  ix. 
•1% 


254  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

Jarkness  to  the  blaze  of  noonday,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
men's  vision  should  prove  feeble,  imperfect,  or  even  de- 
ceptive. Popery  had  chained  down  the  mind :  when  the 
fetters  were  broken,  it  ought  not  to  have  been  wondered 
at  if  a  period  of  erratic  and  wayward  movement  followed. 
For  my  own  part,  I  think  that,  under  all  the  circumstances, 
the  conduct  of  the  Reform  leaders  was  marvelously  sober. 

2.  That  although  certain  Baptists  embraced  erroneous 
notions  about  the  millennium  and  other  absurd  theories, 
t.  e  whole  body  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  such  things, 
since  they  were  discountenanced  by  the  majority.  The 
fair  representation  would  be,  that  some  persons  pro- 
fessing Baptist  sentiments  fell  into  these  evils,  but  that  the 
denomination  as  a  whole  was  entirely  free  from  them. 
They  are  properly  enough  ascribed  by  Brandt  to  "  a  new 
sect  of  enthusiastical  Anabaptists"  which  arose  at  that 
time,  widely  differing  from  the  "  well-meaning"  people 
who  bore  the  same  name.^ 

3.  That  the  men  of  Munster  should  have  been  treated 
as  maniacs.  Motley  says  of  some  who  suffered  at  Am- 
sterdam, that  they  were  "  furious  lunatics,  who  certainly 
deserved  the  madhouse  rather  than  the  scaffold."  *  The 
remark  is  as  applicable  to  the  Germans  as  to  the  Dutch. 
It  was  insanity  produced  by  intense  feelir.g,  a  phenome- 
non not  unusual  in  times  of  excitement,  from  whatever 
cause  that  excitement  might  spring.  Taught  to  abandon 
the  old  formalism,  and  to  regard  Christianity  as  essen- 
tially identified  with  life  and  power,  and  as  requiring  per- 
sonal choice  and  action,  the  Baptists  were  conscious  of 
an  engagedness  of  heart  in  religion  which  was  peculiar 

'  History  of  the  Reformation,  abridged,  i.  38. 
»  History  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  i.  80. 


THE    REFORMATION  PERIOD.  255 

to  such  sentiments.  The  opposition  they  met  with  caused 
them  to  cling  more  closely  to  the  truth,  and  to  study  it 
with  greater  earnestness.  Firmly  believing  the  promises 
of  Scripture,  they  looked  forward  to  the  triumph  of  New 
Testament  principles,  and  that  triumph,  they  foresaw, 
would  occasion  a  complete  revolution  in  society,  and  par- 
ticularly a  dissolution  of  the  union  between  church  and 
state,  since,  in  proportion  as  their  views  prevailed,  the 
right  of  the  civil  magistrate  to  interfere  in  religious  mat- 
ters would  be  denied,  and  such  interference  abolished. 
Then  persecution  would  cease,  and  the  peaceful  dominion 
of  the  Saviour  would  prevail.  The  majority  of  the  Bap- 
tists were  content  to  labor  and  suffer  in  the  propagation 
of  these  truths,  confidently  expecting  their  ultimate  preva- 
lence. They  employed  spiritual  means  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  spiritual  end.  So  far  from  allowing  the 
use  of  carnal  weapons  in  the  cause  of  religion,  they  held 
all  war  to  be  unlawful.  But  some  few,  men  of  warm 
imagination  and  weak  judgment,  were  overpowered  by 
their  visionary  hopes,  and  thought  themselves  authorized 
to  establish  a  new  government  on  the  ruin  of  the  exist- 
ing order  of  things.  It  was  at  first  the  fire  of  enthusiasm 
— then,  frenzy — at  last,  stark  madness.  But  it  was  a 
temporary  mania,  and  soon  subsided.  The  disorders  and 
outrages  which  attended  it,  and  the  disturbances  which 
ensued  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  must  be  ascribed 
solely  to  the  individuals  who  were  implicated  in  them. 
The  Baptists  in  general  were  wholly  free  from  participa- 
tion in  riot  or  rebellion. 

4.  That  not  only  at  Munster,  but  in  many  other  places, 
there  was  a  deadly  struggle  going  on  between  despotism, 
civil  and  religious,  on  the  one  hand,  and  freedom  on  the 


256  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

other.  Numbers  of  the  Germans  were  prepared  to  follow 
any  leader  who  would  show  them  the  path  of  deliverance 
from  their  hateful  bondage  ;  nor  were  they  very  scrupu- 
lous as  to  the  means  that  might  be  employed.  Their 
efforts  f?iled.  As  it  happened  in  some  instances  that 
Baptists  had  taken  the  lead  or  acquired  pre-eminence, 
they  were  made  to  bear  all  the  discredit,  and  patriotic 
risings  were  stigmatized  as  Baptist  insurrections,  whereas 
in  fact  the  majority  of  those  who  were  termed  rebels  had 
no  connection  with  the  Baptists,  in  a  religious  point  of 
view.    « 

It  is  observable,  also,  that  the  Baptist  martyrs  of  this 
period  frequently  and  indignantly  rebutted  the  calumny 
cast  upon  them,  and  maintained  that  they  were  not  an- 
swerable for  the  disgraceful  doings  at  Munster  and  other 
places. 

"  They  also  asked  him  (Brother  Dryzinger,  A.  D.  1538), 
if  it  were  true,  that  if  we  should  become  numerous,  we 
would  rise  up  against  them  and  strangle  them,  if  they 
would  not  join  us?  He  told  them,  'If  we  did  so,  vje 
should  be  no  Christians^  but  only  such  in  name.'  "^ 

Speaking  of  the  word  of  God,  Hans,  of  Overdam 
(martyred  A.  d.  1550),  said,  "That  is  our  sword;  it  is 
sharp  and  two-edged.  But  we  are  daily  belied  by  those 
who  say  that  we  would  defend  our  faith  with  the  sword, 
as  they  of  Munster  did.  The  Almighty  God  defend  us 
from  such  abominations  !"  ^ 

"  Were  they  not  your  people,"  said  the  lady  of  the 
governor  of  Friesland,  to  Jaques  Dosie,  "  that  disgrace- 
fully and  shamefully  took  up  the  sword  against  the  magis- 
tiates  at  Amsterdam  and  Munster?"     "Oh  no,  madam," 

^  Martyrology,  i.  180.  ''■  Ibid.  i.  335. 


THE  REFORMATION  PERIOD.  257 

Jaques  replied  ;  "  those  persons  greatly  erred.  But  we 
consider  it  a  devilish  doctrine  to  resist  the  magistrates  b}' 
the  outward  sword  and  violence.  We  would  much  rather 
suffer  persecution  and  death  at  their  hands,  and  whatever 
is  appointed  us  to  suffer."  ^ 

5.  I  will  only  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  the  history 
of  these  transactions  has  been  written  by  enemies.  We 
live  in  an  age  of  impartial  historical  criticism.  It  is  not 
improbable,  therefore,  that  discoveries  will  yet  be  made 
which  will  enable  future  historians  to  tell  the  tale  of  the 
so-called  Anabaptists  of  Munster  much  more  clearly  and 
fully  than  their  predecessors. 

At  any  rate,  this  is  certain,  that  the  atrocities  and  im- 
purities perpetrated  at  Munster  were  not  more  justly 
traceable  to  Baptist  sentiments  than  the  massacres  of  the 
Waldenses  and  the  enormities  of  the  Inquisition  would 
be  to  Paedobaptism. 

*  Mariyrology,  357. 


THE  TROUBLOUS   PERIOD. 

2&» 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

FROM  A.  D.  1567  TO  A.  D.  1 688. 

1568.  The  Bishop's  Bible  published. 

1571.  The  Basque  New  Testament  published. 

1572.  Massacre  of  Protestants  at  Paris,  Aug.  24th. — Death    >f  John 

Knox,  Nov.  24th. 
1574.  The  Hungarian  New  Testament  published. 

1580.  Rise  of  the  Brownists. 

1581.  The  Slavonish  Bible  published. 

1582.  The  Rhemish  New  Testament  published. 
1584.  The  Icelandic  Bible  published. 

1587.  Death  of  John  Fox,  the  Martyrologist,  April  i8th. 

1588.  The  Spanish  Armada. — The  Welsh  Bible  published 
1598.  Edict  of  Nantes. 

1600.  Rise  of  the  Arminian  Controversy. 

1605.  Death  of  Theodore  Beza,  Oct  13th. — Gunpowder  plot,  Nov.  5th. 

1609.  Douay  Bible  published. 

161 1.  English  Authorized  Version  published 

1618.  Synod  of  Dort. 

1620.  Settlement  of  the  Puritans  in  New  England 

1637.  Harvard  University  Founded. 

1638.  Episcopacy  abolished  in  Scotland. 

1641.  Massacre  of  Protestants  in  Ireland — Episcopacy  overthrown  in 

England. 
1643.  Assembly  of  Divines   convened. — Baptist   Confession  of  Faith 

published. 
1645.  Archbishop  Laud  beheaded,  Jan.  loth. 

1648.  Peace  of  Westphalia. 

1649.  Rise  of  the  Quakers. 

1653.  Persecution  of  the  Waldenses. 
1658.  Death  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  Sept.  3d 

1660.  Episcopacy  restored  in  England. 

1661.  Episcopacy  restored  in  Scotland. 

1662.  Act  of  Uniformity,  England,  Aug.  24th. 

1664.  Conventicle  Act 

1665.  Five  Mile  Act. — Great  Plague  in  London. 

1666.  Great  Fire  of  London- 

1672.  Corporation  Act. 

1673.  Test  Act. 

1674.  Death  of  John  Milton,  Nov.  8th. 

1683.  Death  of  Dr.  Owen,  Aug.  24th. 

1684.  Death  of  Archbishop  Leighton,  Feb.  1st 

1685.  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 

1686.  Persecution  of  the  Waldenses. 

1688.  Death  of   John   Bunyan,   Aug.   30th. — Glorious   Revolution  in 
England 

260 


CHAPTER  I. 

Baptists  Persecuted  by  all  other  Sects — Liberal  Policy  of  William, 
Prince  of  Orange — The  "  Union  of  Utrecht " — Differences  of  Opinion 
— Persecution  in  Moravia  and  in  Switzerland. 

I  CALL  this  "  The  Troublous  Period,"  because,  while 
the  Baptists  were  fast  increasing  in  those  parts  of 
Europe  in  which  they  had  already  appeared,  their  his- 
tory presents  one  continued  scene  of  disturbance  and  suf- 
fering, inflicted  not  only  by  the  Papists,  from  whom  noth- 
ing else  could  have  been  expected,  but  by  their  fellow- 
Protestants.  The  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  of 
England,  the  Lutherans  of  Germany,  and  the  Reformed 
in  Switzerland,  diff'ering  from  one  another  and  refusing 
intercommunion,  agreed  in  persecuting  the  Baptists. 
They  were  the  "  sect  everywhere  spoken  against."  It 
»vould  have  been  well  if  the  opposition  had  vented  itself 
in  hard  words  only  :  our  forefathers  would  have  borne  it 
with  Christian  meekness,  "  not  rendering  evil  for  evil,  or 
railing  for  railing  "  But  their  co-religionists  persecuted 
them  with  relentless  malice,  even  to  the  spoiling  of  their 
goods,  imprisonment,  and  death.  These  things  must  not 
be  concealed.  I  hold  it  to  be  the  special  duty  of  the  his- 
torian to  record  with  impartial  and  scrupulous  accuracy 
the    atrocities   prepelrated  by  those  who   professed   the 

201 


263  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

principles  of  the  Reformation.  When  a  Papist  persecutes, 
he  acts  in  accordance  with  the  well-known  assumptions 
of  the  great  apostasy  ;  and  however  we  may  deplore  it, 
we  do  not  wonder,  for  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  popery  to 
practice  the  charity  of  the  gospel.  But  Protestant  per- 
secution deserves  to  be  branded  with  double  infamy.  It 
is  an  outrage  on  Protestant  principles,  and  should  be  held 
up  to  universal  indignation. 

The  fires  of  martyrdom  were  frequently  lighted  in  Hol- 
land during  the  early  part  of  this  period.  But  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Dutch  Republic  quenched  them.  The 
prince  of  Orange  understood  religious  freedom,  and 
availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  which  his  position 
gave  him  to  assert  the  natural  rights  of  his  countrymen 
and  the  claims  of  conscience.  The  Baptists  had  aided 
him  in  the  struggle  with  Spanish  tyi'anny.  Their  integ- 
rity and  peaceableness  could  be  trusted.  He  steadfastly 
and  successfully  resisted  the  endeavors  of  those  who 
sought  to  exclude  them  from  the  general  toleration. 

In  1572  a  considerable  sum  of  money  had  been  carried 
to  the  prince,  who  was  then  at  Dillenberg,  by  J.  Corten- 
bosch  and  Peter  Bogaert,  Baptists  (the  latter  was  a  min- 
ister), as  the  offering  of  the  brethren.  They  performed 
this  service  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  When  he  asked 
them  what  he  could  do  in  return,  they  replied  that  all 
they  wanted  was  a  due  share  of  his  favor  should  he  be 
established  in  the  government.  He  assured  them  that  all 
men  should  be  regarded  by  him  as  equals,  and  that  they 
had  no  cause  for  fear.^ 

William,  Prince  of  Orange,  was  a  man  of  right  noble 
ipirit.  "  He  resolutely  stood  out  against  all  meddling 
'  Ottii  Annales,  ad  ann.  1572. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  263 

with  men's  consciences  or  inquiring  into  their  thoughts. 
While  smiting  the  Spanisli  Inquisition  into  the  dust,  he 
\vo>'ld  have  no  Calvinist  Inquisition  set  up  in  its  phicc. 
Earnestly  a  convert  to  the  Reformed  religion,  hut  hating 
and  denouncing  only  what  was  corrupt  in  the  ancient 
church,  he  would  not  force  men,  with  fire  and  sword,  to 
travel  to  heaven  upon  his  own  road.  Thought  should  be 
toll-free.  Neither  monk  nor  minister  should  burn,  drown, 
or  hang  his  fellow-creatures  when  argument  or  expostu- 
lation failed  to  redeem  them  from  error.  It  was  no  small 
virtue,  in  that  age,  to  rise  to  such  a  height.  We  know 
what  Calvinists,  Zwinglians,  Lutherans  have  done  in 
the  Netherlands,  in  Germany,  in  Switzerland,  and  almost 
a  century  later  in  New  England.  It  is,  therefore,  with 
increased  veneration  that  we  regard  this  large  and  truly 
catholic  mind."  But  it  was  "  impossible  for  the  prince 
thoroughly  to  infuse  his  own  ideas  on  the  subject  of  tole- 
ration into  the  hearts  of  his  nearest  associates.  He  could 
not  hope  to  inspire  his  deadly  enemies  with  a  deeper 
sympathy.  Was  he  n6t  himself  the  mark  of  obloquy 
among  the  Reformers,  because  of  his  leniency  to  Catho- 
lics? Nay,  more,  was  not  his  intimate  counselor,  the 
accomplished  Saint  Aldegonde,  in  despair  because  the 
prince  refused  to  exclude  the  Anabaptists  of  Holland 
from  the  rights  of  citizenship.''  At  the  very  moment 
when  William  was  straining  every  nerve  to  unite  warring 
sects,  and  to  persuade  men's  hearts  into  a  system  by  which 
their  consciences  were  to  be  laid  open  to  God  alone — at 
the  moment  when  it  was  most  necessary  for  the  very  ex- 
istence of  the  Fatherland  that  Catholic  and  Protestant 
should  mingle  their  social  and  political  relations,  it  was 
indeed  a  bitter  disappointment  for  him  to  see  wise  states- 


264  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

men  of  his  own  creed  unable  to  rise  to  the  idea  of  tolera- 
tion. '  The  affair  of  the  Anabaptists,'  wrote  Saint  Alde- 
gonde, '  has  been  renewed.  The  prince  objects  to  exclude 
them  from  citizenship.  He  answered  me  sharply,  that 
their  yea  was  equal  to  our  oath,  and  that  we  should  not 
press  this  matter,  tailess  we  were  willing  to  confess  that 
it  was  just  for  the  Baptists  to  co?npel  us  to  a  divine 
service  which  was  against  our  conscience.'  It  seems 
hardly  credible  that  this  sentence,  containing  so  sublime 
a  tribute  to  the  character  of  the  prince,  should  have  been 
indited  as  a  bitter  censure,  and  that,  too,  by  an  enlight- 
ened and  accomplished  Protestant."  ^ 

Notwithstanding  the  ignorance  and  bigotry  of  those 
with  whom  he  was  associated,  William  held  on  his  way. 
When  the  "  Union  of  Utrecht,"  the  foundation  of  the 
Dutch  Commonwealth,  was  formed,  it  was  expressly  pro- 
vided tliat  "  every  individual  should  remain  free  in  his 
religion,  and  that  no  man  should  be  molested  or  ques- 
tioned on  the  subject  of  divine  worship."^ 

That  auspicious  event  took  place  in  the  year  1579. 
Then  "  the  churches  had  rest."  From  that  time  the 
Dutch  Baptists,  or  Mennonites,  as  they  have  been  com- 
monly called,  enjoyed  a  good  measure  of  prosperity. 
Their  numbers  greatly  increased.  In  those  very  cities 
where  their  predecessors  were  so  cruelly  butchered  they 
were  held  in  high  respect,  and  often  discharged  with 
credit  the  duties  connected  with  the  civic  affairs  to  which 
they  were  appointed.  Their  scruples  against  oath-taking 
were  met  by  substituting  in  their  case  a  solemn  affir- 
mation as  is  the  practice  now  in  England  with  regard 
to  the  Qiiakers  and  some  other  religious  bodies.  In 
Motley's  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Rc^iihlic,  ii,  362,  206.         ^  Ibid.  p.  412. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  265 

lieu  of  personal  service  in  the  army,  they  paid  an  annual 
tax. 

During  their  troubles,  it  was  impossible  to  carry  into 
ertect  any  educational  plans.  When  peace  was  restored, 
the  desirableness  of  securing  an  educated  ministry  be- 
came a  matter  of  earnest  consideration.  Sound  views 
were  entertained,  and  a  college  was  established  at  Am- 
sterdam, which  has  proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  de- 
nomination. 

Certain  divergences  of  opinion  among  them  occasioned 
bitterness  of  feeling  and  estranged  brethren  from  one 
another.  These  manifestations  of  human  weakness  were 
to  be  lamented.  Their  injurious  effects  were  felt  by  all 
parties,  and  at  length  they  agreed  to  bear  with  one  an- 
other, and  to  cease  to  regard  their  differences  as  hin- 
drances to  mutual  fellowship.  Those  differences  related 
chiefly  to  the  manner  in  which  the  human  nature  of  the 
Saviour  was  produced,  and  to  the  effects  of  exclusion 
from  the  church.  As  to  the  former,  a  resolution  was 
passed  at  a  synod  held  in  1615,  declaring  that  harmony 
on  that  subject  was  not  essential.  The  harshness  which 
characterized  the  discipline  of  the  churches  in  the  early 
period  of  their  history  gradually  gave  way  to  a  more 
Christian  policy,  and  exclusion  was  not  held,  by  the 
Mennonites  in  general,  as  involving  the  severance  of  do- 
mestic and  social  relations.  There  was  another  point  in 
which  they  differed — the  washing  of  one  another's  feet — 
which  some  of  them  regarded  as  an  apostolical  ordinance 
of  perpetual  obligation.  This,  too,  was  placed  among 
things  indifferent.  But  some  of  the  Mennonites  hold  it  to 
this  day. 

The  progress  of  the  Baptists  in  the  central  countries  of 
2S 


266  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

Europe  is  indicated  by  the  number  of  publications  on  the 
baptismal  controversy  which  issued  from  the  press  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  There  would  have  been  no  need  of 
those  works  if  Paedobaptism  had  not  been  in  danger.  The 
concurrent  testimony  of  the  authors  of  that  age  proves 
that  in  the  German  states,  in  Prussia,  and  in  Poland, 
Baptist  principles  were  spreading  among  the  people,  in 
spite  of  continual  efforts  to  suppress  them. 

In  a  former  chapter  I  gave  an  account  of  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  Baptists  in  Moravia.  They  had  re-entered 
that  country,  and  lived  witliout  molestation  for  a  number 
of  years.  Their  industrious  habits,  their  honesty ,,and  in- 
tegrity commanded  great  respect.  But  the  Jesuits,  who 
had  obtained  complete  control  over  the  Emperor  Ferdi 
nand  II.,  persuaded  him  that  it  would  be  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  for  his  own  welfare  to  expel  them.  They  had 
done  no  wrong ;  they  owed  no  arrears  of  taxes ;  they 
were  loyal  and  peaceable,  and  the  district  in  which  they 
lived  was  improving  fiist  under  their  good  management. 
But  they  were  heretics.  They  would  not  wear  the  yoke 
of  Rome,  for  they  were  the  Lord's  freemen.  That  was 
enough.  The  crime  of  thinking  for  oneself  in  matters 
of  religion  is  unpardonable  ;  it  must  be  visited  with  the 
"  great  curse,"  and  its  perpetrators  must  be  put  out  of 
the  way.  In  this  case  extermination,  which  would  have 
been  preferred,  was  impossible  ;  it  was  not  politic,  and 
might  not  be  safe,  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  from 
twenty  to  forty  thousand  of  the  best  subjects  of  the  king- 
dom. The  milder  measure  of  expulsion  was  resolved  on, 
and  the  craft  and  cruelty  of  the  Jesuits  were  strik  ngly 
displayed  in  carrying  it  into  effect.  It  was  summer,  har- 
vest-time was  near,  and  the  vintage  would  follow  shortly 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  267 

afterward.  Humanity  would  have  dictated  that  if  justice 
required  the  banishment  of  those  men,  they  should  have 
the  opportunity  of  gathering  in  the  produce  of  their 
labors,  and  so  be  provided  with  the  means  of  sustenance 
for  themselves  and  their  families  during  the  coming  winter. 
But  Jesuitism  knows  nothing  of  humanity.  Goaded  on 
by  his  spiritual  advisers,  Ferdinand  issued  an  edict  in  tlie 
year  1621,  declaring  that  his  conscience  would  not  permit 
liim  to  allow  the  continuance  of  the  heretics  any  longer 
in  his  dominions,  and  ordering  them  all  to  depart  within 
three  weeks  and  three  days,  on  pain  of  death  if  they  were 
lound  even  on  the  borders  of  the  country  after  the  expira- 
tion of  the  allotted  time. 

"  Heaven  had  smiled  on  their  harvest  labors,"  says 
Kobinson  ;  "  their  fields  stood  thick  with  corn,  and  the 
sun  and  the  dew  were  improving  every  moment  to  give 
them  their  last  polish.  The  yellow  ears  waved  a  homage 
to  their  owners,  and  the  wind  whistled  through  the  stems, 
and  the  russet  herbage  softly  said,  '  Put  in  the  sickle,  the 
harvest  is  come.'  Their  luxuriant  vine  leaves,  too,  hung 
aloft  by  tendrils  mantling  over  the  clustering  grapes  like 
watchful  parents  over  their  tender  offspring  ;  but  all  were 
fenced  by  an  imperial  edict,  and  it  was  instant  death  to 
approach.  Without  leaving  one  murmur  upon  record, 
in  solemn,  silent  submission  to  the  Power  that  governs 
the  universe  and  causes  '  all  things  to  work  together  for 
good'  to  his  creatures,  they  packed  up  and  departed.  In 
several  hundred  carriages  they  conveyed  their  sick,  their 
innocent  infants  sucking  at  the  breasts  of  their  mothers 
who  had  newly  laid  in,  and  their  decrepid  parents  whose 
work  was  done,  and  whose  silvery  locks  told  every  be- 
holder that  they  wanted  only  the  favor  of  a  grave.     At 


268  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

the  borders  they  filed  off,  some  to  Hungary,  others 
to  Transylvania,  some  to  Wallachia,  others  to  l*oland  ; 
greater,  far  greater  for  their  virtue  than  Ferdinand  for  all 
his  titles  and  for  all  his  glory."  ^ 

Robinsoi  adds,  that  "the  Jesuit  who  executed  this 
business  says  ten  thousand  stayed  in  Moravia,  and  be- 
came Catholics."  That  may  be  set  down  as  a  glaring 
falsehood,  for  Baptists  and  the  Church  of  Rome  are  the 
spiritual  antipodes  to  each  other.  The  truth  was,  that 
though  the  greater  part  obeyed  the  edict,  some  ventured 
to  remain.  They  had  to  endure  tremendous  persecution 
for  the  first  seven  years,  after  which  the  activity  of  the 
bloodhounds  slackened,  and  the  Baptists  were  enabled  to 
live  in  comparative  peace.  But  freedom  of  worship  was 
denied  them.  They  met  as  they  could,  in  small  compa- 
nies, in  woods,  and  caves,  and  unfrequented  places.  God 
was  with  them. 

Protestant  Switzerland  was  disgraced  by  unremitting 
opposition  to  the  truth.  The  history  of  the  Baptists  in 
that  country  is  a  sad  tale  of  woe.  Swiss  Presbyterians 
had  won  freedom  for  themselves,  but  they  were  deter- 
mined not  to  grant  it  to  others.  It  seemed  as  if  the  ghost 
of  Zuingli  haunted  them,  urging  them  on  in  their  anti- 
christian  career.  Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  that  had 
been  made,  the  Baptists  had  multiplied  among  them,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  drive  them  out.  Many  emigrated  to 
Moravia,  but  the  majority  preferred  to  remain  in  their 
own  homesteads  ;  and  they  could  not  be  silent  and  quiet. 
They  felt  that  they  had  as  much  right  as  others  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  their  consciences,  and  they  acted 
accordingl}^     When  edicts  were  issued  aga'nst  them  they 

*  Ecclesiastical  Researches,  p.  526, 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  269 

said,  "  We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men,"  and  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  magistrate  in 
thir-ys  spiritual.  If  they  were  sent  to  prison,  they  broke 
<jut  whenever  they  could  get  opportunity ;  if  they  were 
put  in  irons  in  order  to  prevent  escape,  they  made  good 
lie  )f  the  files  with  which  their  friends  supplied  them, 
a  id  so  extricated  themselves,  to  the  astonishment  of  their 
jailers ;  and  on  one  occasion  they  contrived  to  throw  a 
quantity  of  opium  into  their  keepers'  wine,  and  took 
leave  of  them  while  they  slept.  It  was  a  most  perplex- 
ing case.  Both  magistrates  and  clergy  were  at  fault. 
The  magistrates  said  to  the  clergy,"  Answer  these  men's 
arf^uments — preach  bettei" — live  better — make  it  impossi- 
ble for  our  Swiss  to  become  Baptists."  The  clergy  re- 
plied, "  All  we  can  do  and  say  is  in  vain.  Our  people 
w/// listen  to  the  heretics.  You  must  inflict  sharper  pun- 
ishments." 

They  tried  it.  Some  were  sent  to  the  galleys.  John 
Landis,  a  Baptist  minister,  was  put  to  death.  All  Bap- 
tists were  required  to  leave  the  country.  On  their  refusal, 
th'iir  property  was  confiscated,  and  held  by  the  govern- 
ment for  the  benefit  of  such  of  their  children  or  heirs  as 
should  conform  to  the  established  religion.  All  persons 
were  forbidden  to  show  them  hospitality.  It  can  easily 
be  imagined  that  such  barbarous  proceedings  must  have 
occasioned  a  vast  amount  of  suffering. 

The  preceding  statements  relate  chiefly  to  Zurich.    But 
the  Baptists  were  similarly  treated  in  Berne  and  in  the 
other  cantons.     "  All  men  hated  them."  ^ 
'  Ottii  Annales,  passim. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Dutch  Baptists  Persecuted  in  England — Account  of  Hendrick  Terwoort 
and  Jan  Pieters — Their  Rrartyrdom — Their  Religious  Sentiments^ 
Whitgift's  Invectives  against  the  Baptists. 

DURING  the  persecution  which  ranged  in  the  Neth- 
erlands under  the  Duke  of  Alva,  butcher-general 
of  the  Inquisition  in  that  country,  numbers  fled  to  other 
parts  of  the  Continent,  or  to  England,  for  refuge  and 
safety.  In  England,  at  any  rate,  they  ought  to  have  been 
safe.  But  the  demon  of  persecution  ruled  there.  At 
London,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1575,  a  small  congregation 
of  Dutch  Baptists  convened  in  a  private  house,  outside 
the  city  gates  ("without  Aldgate"),  was  interrupted 
while  at  worship  by  a  constable,  and  twenty-five  persons 
were  taken  before  a  magistrate,  who  committed  them  to 
prison,  but  released  them  after  two  days'  confinement,  on 
their  giving  bail  for  their  appearance  whenever  sum- 
moned. 

Information  being  given  to  the  queen,  a  royal  commis- 
sion was  issued  to  Sandys,  bishop  of  London,  and  some 
others,  to  examine  the  parties  and  proceed  accordingly. 
They  appeared  before  the  commissioners  in  pursuance  of 
the  summons.  Their  confession  of  faith  was  rejected, 
270 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  27 1 

and  they  were  required  to  subscribe  to  four  articles.^  con- 
demnatory of  their  own  principles. 

"  They  proposed  to  us  four  questions,"  says  one  of  the 
prisoners,  "  telHng  us  to  say  yea  or  nay — 

"  I.  Whether  Christ  had  not  taken  his  flesh  and  blood 
of  the  Virgin  Mary? 

"  We  answered  ;  He  is  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 

"  2.  Ought  not  little  children  to  be  baptized  ? 

"We  answered;  Not  so;  we  find  it  not  written  in 
Holy  Scripture. 

"3.  May  a  Christian  serve  the  office  of  a  magistrate? 

"  We  answered  ;  That  it  did  not  oblige  our  consciences  ; 
but,  as  we  read,  we  esteemed  it  an  ordinance  of  God. 

"4.  Whether  a  Christian,  if  needs  be,  may  not  swear? 

"We  answered;  That  it  also  obliged  not  our  con- 
sciences ;  for  Christ  has  said,  in  Matthew,  Let  your 
words  be  yea.,  yea;  nay.,  nay.     Then  we  were  silent. 

"  But  the  bishop  said,  that  our  misdeeds  therein  were 
so  great  that  we  could  not  enjoy  the  favor  of  God.  O 
Lord  !  avenge  it  not.  He  then  said  to  us  all,  that  we 
should  be  imprisoned  in  the  Marshalsea." 

In  the  Marshalsea  prison — now  called  the  "  Qiieen's 
Bench  " — to  which  they  were  then  conveyed,  many  efibrts 
were  made  by  the  ministers  of  the  Dutch  Church  and 
others,  to  persuade  them  to  submit  and  recant.  "  Master 
Joris  came  to  us  and  said.  If  we  would  join  the  church, 
that  is,  the  Dutch  Church,  our  chains  should  be  struck 
oft"",  and  our  bonds  loosed.  The  bishop,  he  said,  had 
given  him  command  so  to  do.  But  we  remained  stead- 
fast to  the  truth  of  Jesus  Christ  He  is  indeed  our  Cap- 
tain, and  no  other  ;  yea,  in  him  is  all  our  trust.  My  dear 
brethren,  and  sweet  sisters,  let  us  persevere  until  we  con- 


272  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

quer.  The  Lord  will  then  give  us  to  drink  of  the  new 
wine.  O  Lord,  strengthen  our  faith.  As  we  have  re- 
ceived the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  us  go  forward  courage- 
ously, trusting  in  him."  Five  of  them  were  overpowered, 
and  consented  to  join  the  Dutch  Church.  They  made  a 
public  recantation  in  St.  Paul's  churchyard  on  the  25th 
of  May,  standing  there  before  thousands  of  people,  with 
faggots  bound  to  their  shoulders,  as  in  popish  times.  A 
few  days  after,  the  remainder  appeared  again  before  the 
commissioners.  "  We  remembered  the  word  of  the 
Lord,"  says  Gerrit  van  Byler :  "  Wheti  they  shall  lead 
you  before  lords  and  princes.,  fear  not  what  you  shall 
say,  for  in  that  hour  it  shall  be  given  yo7i.  So  we 
trusted  in  the  Lord.  The  questions  were  again  proposed, 
and  subscription  demanded  ;  but  we  said,  That  we  would 
cleave  to  the  word  of  the  Lord."  Upon  this  they  were 
declared  to  be  incorrigible  heretics,  sentenced  to  death, 
and  given  over  to  the  secular  arm  to  be  punished. 

Bishop  Sandys  was  the  spokesman  on  the  occasion. 
The  sentence  accorded  with  his  theology.  In  a  sermon 
preached  by  him  before  the  Parliament,  this  passage  oc- 
curs:  "Such  as  teach,  but  teach  not  the  good  and  right 
way ;  such  as  are  open  and  public  maintainers  of  errors 
and  heresy  ;  such,  in  the  judgment  of  God,  are  thought 
unworthy  to  live.  Let  the  false  prophet  die  [Deut.  xiii. 
5].  Elias  and  Jehu  did  not  think  themselves  imbrued, 
hut  rather  sanctified  with  such  blood.  I  have  no  cruel 
heart ;  blood  be  far  from  me.  I  mind  [desire]  nothing 
less.  Yet  needs  must  it  be  granted  that  the  maintainers 
and  teachers  of  errors  and  heresy  are  to  be  repressed  in 
every  Christian  commonwealth."  ^ 

^Sermons,  p.  40.     Parker  Society. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  273 

Foi  rteen  women  and  a  youth  were  put  on  board  a  ves- 
sel and  sent  out  of  the  country.  The  youth  was  whipped 
from  the  prison  to  the  wharf.  The  remaining  five  were 
consigned  to  Newgate,  where  they  were  put  in  heavy 
irons,  thrust  into  a  damp  and  filthy  dungeon,  swarming 
with  vermin,  and  not  allowed  to  associate  with  other 
prisoners,  lest  the  thieves  and  murderers  in  the  jail  should 
be  corrupted  by  Anabaptist  contamination !  One  of 
their  number.  Christian  Kemcls,  sank  under  the  inhuman 
treatment.  He  died  in  the  dungeon,  after  eight  days'  con- 
finement. He  was  "  released  by  death,  trusting  in  God 
his  dying  testimony  filled  us  with  joy." 

The  queen  was  entreated  to  spare  them.  But  she  re- 
sented such  interference  with  her  prerogative,  and  would 
only  consent  to  a  month's  reprieve,  and  that  in  compli- 
ance with  the  intercession  of  John  Fox,  the  martyrologist, 
whose  truly  pathetic  and  eloquent  letter  to  her  majesty 
on  the  subject  has  been  often  printed  and  generally  ad- 
mired. Admirable  it  was,  in  some  respects.  It  was  a 
gushing  forth  of  Christianized  humanity,  quite  peculiar 
in  that  age  of  steel-clad  religion.  But  good  old  John 
was  still  in  the  dark.  He  did  not  understand  soul-freedom. 
According  to  him.  Baptists  had  no  right  to  hold  and  pro- 
fess their  opinions.  They  were  ranked  with  those  "  fa- 
natical sects"  which  "  are  by  no  means  to  be  countenanced 
in  a  commonwealth,"  but  ought  to  be  "  suppressed  by 
proper  correction."  He  did  not  ask  therefore  for  their 
release.  All  he  complained  of  w^s,  "  the  jf/ear/»e55  of 
their  punishment."  He  would  have  it  changed.  "  There 
are  excommunications  and  close  imprisonment;  triCre  are 
bonds ;  there  is  perpetual  banishment,  burning  of  the 
hand,   and  whipping,  or  even   slavery  itself."     But  "  to 


«74  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

roast  alive  the  bodies  of  poor  wretches,  that  offend  rather 
through  blindness  of  judgment  than  perverseness  of  will, 
xnjire  and  Jlajiies^  raging  with,  pitch  and  brimsto7ie"  he 
denounced  as  "  a  hard-hearted  thing,"  and  more  agreeable 
to  the  practice  of  the  Romanists  than  the  custom  of  the 
gospelers.  If,  however,  the  queen  would  not  consent 
to  recall  the  sentence,  he  implored  her  to  grant  "a  month 
or  two,  in  which  we  may  try  whether  the  Lord  will  give 
them  grace  to  turn  from  their  dangerous  errors ;  lest  with 
the  destruction  of  their  bodies  their  souls  be  in  danger  of 
eternal  ruin,"  ^ 

Fox  wrote  also  to  the  prisoners,  urging  them  to  ac- 
knowledge their  errors,  to  give  up  their  "frantic  concep- 
tions," and  telling  them  that  they  had  "  disturbed  the 
church  by  their  great  scandal  and  offence."  He  sent 
them  a  copy  of  his  letter  to  the  queen.  In  their  reply  to 
him  they  say :  "  We  are  sorry  that  you  do  not  understand 
our  matter,  and  that  you  have  another  opinion  of  us  than 
we  wish,  since  you  think  that  by  our  curiosity  and  obsti- 
nacy we  have  not  only  given  offence  to  the  church  of 
God,  but  also  provoked  God  himself,  and  frustrated  our 
salvation.  What  reason  you  have  thus  to  think  of  us  we 
know  not ;  nevertheless,  we  can  assure  you  that  we  seek 
with  our  whole  hearts  to  serve  the  one  God,  and  Christ, 
in  a  good  conscience,  and  to  edify  our  neighbor  as  far  as 
in  us  lies.  Therefore  we  gladly  receive  what  the  Holy 
Scripture  testifies,  and  wish  to  be  permitted  to  adhere  to 
the  plainness  and  simplicity  of  the  word  of  God,  and  not 
to  be  urged  farther  with  subtle  questions,  which  our  feeble 
understandings  are  not  able  to  comprehend,  nor  by  Scrip- 
ture to  justify." 

^  Crosby's  History  of  the  Baptists^  i.  70-73. 


THE     TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  275 

The  prisoners  transmitted  to  the  queen  a  confession  of 
their  faith,  accompanied  by  a  "supplicatton,"  from  which 
I  copy  the  following  extract  : 

"  We  testify  before  God  and  your  majesty,  that  were 
we  in  our  consciences  able  by  any  means  to  think  or  un- 
derstand the  contrary,  we  would  with  all  our  hearts  re- 
ceive and  confess  it ;  since  it  were  a  great  folly  in  us,  not 
to  live  rather  in  the  exercise  of  a  right  faith,  than  to  die, 
perhaps  in  a  false  one.  May  it  also  please  your  majesty 
in  your  wisdom  and  innate  goodness  to  consider,  that  it 
were  not  right,  but  hypocrisy  in  us  to  speak  otherwise 
than  with  our  hearts  we  believe,  in  order  to  escape  the 
peril  of  temporal  death  ;  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe 
otherwise  than  we  in  our  consciences  think  ;  and  also  that 
it  is  not  in  our  power  to  believe  this  or  that,  as  evil-doers 
who  do  right  or  wrong  as  they  please.  But  the  true  faith 
must  be  implanted  in  the  heart  of  man  by  God  ;  and  to 
him  we  daily  pray,  that  he  would  give  us  his  Spirit,  to 
understand  his  word  and  gospel. 

"  Above  all,  it  is  evident  to  your  majesty  that  we  have 
not  sought  to  stir  up  any  rebellions  or  seditions  against 
your  majesty ;  but  much  more,  have  daily  besought  the 
Lord  for  your  happy  reign,  and  the  welfare  both  of  your 
soul  and  body.  Lastly,  we  have  not  endeavored  to  spread 
our  faith  in  the  land.  This  we  could  not  do,  for  we  are 
onh'  unlearned  tradespeople,  unskilled  in  divinity." 

All  was  in  vain.  The  Baptists  remained  firm.  The 
queen  would  not  relent.  On  the  15th  of  July  she  signed 
the  warrant  for  the  execution  of  two  of  them,  command- 
ing the  sheriffs  of  London  to  burn  them  alive  in  Smith- 
field. 

A  copy  of  the  warrant  is  now  before   me.     There  is 


276  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

also  before  me  a  copy  of  the  warrant  for  the  burning  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer  in  Qiieen  Mary's  days.  These  war- 
rants are  substantially  alike.  In  fact,  they  are  almost 
couched  in  the  same  language,  word  for  word.  Mary, 
the  Papist,  dooming  to  death  the  Protestant,  and  Eliza-^ 
beth,  the  Protestant,  ordering  the  execution  of  the  Bap- 
list,  advance  the  same 'pretensions  and  adopt  the  same 
foims  of  speech.  Both  of  these  call  their  victims  "  here- 
tics." Both  assume  to  be  "  zealous  for  justice."  Both 
are  "  defenders  of  the  Catholic  faith."  Both  declare 
their  determination  to  "  maintain  and  defend  the  holy 
church,  her  rights  and  liberties."  Both  avow  their 
resolve  to  "  root  out  and  extirpate  heresies  and  errors." 
Both  assert  that  the  heretics  named  in  the  warrants  had 
been  convicted  and  condemned  "  according  to  the  laws 
and  customs  of  the  realm."  Both  charge  the  sheriffs  to 
take  their  prisoners  to  a  "  public  and  open  place,"  and 
there  to  "  commit  them  to  the  fire,"  in  the  presence  of 
the  people,  and  to  cause  them  to  be  "really  consumed" 
in  the  said  fire.  Both  warn  the  sherifis  that  they  fail 
therein  at  their  peril.  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate  forgot 
their  differences  when  they  united  in  crucifying  the 
Saviour.  Papists  and  Protestants  agree  in  murdering  his 
followers.^ 

Hendrick  Terwoort  and  Jan  Pieters  were  the  two  whom 
the  queen  appointed  to  death.  Terwoort  was  a  young 
man,  about  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  a  gold- 
smith and  in  good  circumstances.  He  was  married  some 
eight  or  ten  weeks  before  his  imprisonment.  Pieters  was 
aged,  poor,  and  nine  children  depended  on  his  daily  toil. 
His  first  wife  had  been  martyred  at  Ghent  in  Flanders ; 
*  Documentary  Anttals,  i.  201,  394. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  277 

his  second  wife  was  the  widow  of  a  martyr.  A  statement 
of  his  circumstances  was  laid  before  Sandys,  in  order  to 
induce  him  to  get  permission  for  Pieters  to  leave  the 
country  with  his  wife  and  children  ;  but  the  bishop  was 
inaccessible  to  pity. 

On  Lord's  Day,  the  17th  of  July,  they  were  informed 
that  the  warrant  for  their  execution  had  arrived.  "Upon 
Tuesday,"  says  Gerrit  van  Byler,  "  a  stake  was  set  up 
in  Smithfield,  but  the  execution  was  not  that  day.  (^n 
Wednesday  many  people  were  gathered  together  to  v\  it 
ness  the  death  of  our  two  friends,  but  it  was  again  de- 
ferred. This  was  done  to  terrify,  and  draw  our  fiiends 
and  us  from  the  faith.  But  on  Friday  our  two  friends, 
Hendrick  Terwoort  and  Jan  Pieters,  being  brought  out 
from  their  prison,  were  led  to  the  sacrifice.  As  they  went 
forth,  Jan  Pieters  said,  '  The  holy  prophets,  and  also 
Christ,  our  Saviour,  have  gone  this  way  before  us,  even 
from  the  beginning,  from  Abel  until  now.' "  A  vast 
multitude  had  collected  together  on  the  occasion,  but 
few  of  whom,  probably,  sympathized  with  the  sufferers. 
Some  preachers  were  sent  to  the  place  of  execution  to 
prevent  the  expression  of  sympathy  by  maligning  them. 
One  of  them  exclaimed,  "  These  men  believe  not  on 
God."  "  We  believe,"  replied  Pieters,  "  in  one  God,  our 
heavenly  Father  Almighty,  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  his 
•Son."  When  they  were  bound  to  the  stake,  the  articles 
were  again  offered  to  them,  and  life  and  pardon  promised 
!f  they  would  subscribe.  Pieters  answered  for  thein  botli, 
"  You  have  labored  hard  to  drive  us  to  you,  but  now, 
when  placed  at  the  stake,  it  is  labor  in  vain."  One  ot 
the  preachers  said,  in  excuse,  "  Tliat  all  such  matters 
were  determined  by  the  council,  and  that  it  was  the 
24 


278  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

queen's  intention  they  should  die."  "  But,"  rejoined 
Pieters,  "you  are  the  teachers  of  the  queen,  whom  it 
behooves  you  to  instruct  better ;  therefore  shall  our  blood 
be  required  at  your  hands."  No  answer  could  be  given 
to  this.  Fire  was  applied,  and  the  souls  of  the  martyrs 
ascended  to  God.  "  How  utterly  absurd,"  says  the 
Dutch  martyrologist,  "  do  all  such  cruel  proceedings  and 
sentences  as  are  here  seen,  appear,  when  contrasted  with 
the  Christian  faith  !  The  Christian  host  is  described  as 
sheep  and  lambs,  sent  forth  among  cruel  and  devouring 
wolves.  Who  will  be  able,  with  a  good  conscience,  to 
believe  that  these  English  preachers  were  the  true  sheep 
of  Christ,  since  in  this  matter  they  brought  forth  so 
notably  the  fruit  of  wolves .''"  ^ 

This  was  a  black  affair.  It  was  essentially  unjust  and 
cruel,  and  admitted  of  no  palliation.  These  Baptists 
owed  no  allegiance  to  Elizabeth.  They  were  not  her 
subjects.  They  were  refugees,  and  claimed  her  protec- 
tion as  exiles  for  religion's  sake  from  their  native  land. 
They  were  living  peaceably,  doing  harm  to  none.  No 
rioting  or  disturbance  was  laid  to  their  charge.  All  that 
could  be  alleged  against  them  was,  that  they  did  not  go 
to  the  parisl"\  churches,  but  exercised  Christian  freedom, 
and  worshiped  God  as  they  understood  the  Scriptures 
to  teach  them.  For  this  they  were  burned  to  death  by  a 
Protestant  queen. 

I  am  willing  to  believe  that  Elizabeth  was  influenced 
by  her  bishops.  Sandys  and  Whitgift  were  furious 
against  the  Baptists,  They  misrepresented  and  calum- 
niated them  continually.     They  held  them  up  to  public 

'  Von  Braght's  Bloody  Theatre,  or  Martyr's  Mirror,  translated  by  J 
Rupp,  pp.  915-929- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  279 

scorn  and  indignation,  as  professing  sentiments  incom- 
patible with  the  well-being  of  society.  The  queen  was 
instructed  by  these  men  to  regard  the  Baptists  as  hostile 
to  her  royal  authority.  That  was  touching  her  in  a  ten- 
der part.  The  womanly  heart  was  strangely  hardened, 
and  she  refused  to  show  mercy. 

Elizabeth  could  not  plead  ignorance  respecting  the 
sentiments  of  the  Baptists.  In  the  confession  of  faith 
which  Terwoort  and  Pieters  sent  to  her,  a  revised  copy 
of  which  was  signed  by  them  the  day  before  their  martyr- 
dom, they  thus  plainly  stated  their  views  : 

"  We  believe  and  confess  that  magistrates  are  set  and 
ordained  of  God,  to  punish  the  evil  and  protect  the  good  ; 
which  magistracy  we  desire  from  our  hearts  to  obey,  as 
it  is  written  in  i  Peter  ii.  13,  '  Submit  yourseh^es  to 
every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake.'  '  For  he 
beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain'  (Romans  xiii.  4).  And 
Paul  teaches  us  that  we  should  offer  up  for  all  '  pi'ayers, 
and  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks ;  that  we  may 
lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and 
honesty.  For  this  is  good  and  acceptable  in  the  siglit  of 
God  our  Saviour,  who  desires  that  all  men  should  be 
saved'  (i  Tim.  ii.  1-4).  He  further  teaches  us  '  to  be 
subject  to  principalities  and  powers,  to  obey  magistrates, 
and  to  be  ready  to  every  good  work'  (Titus  iii.  1).  There- 
fore we  pray  your  majesty  kindly  to  understand  aright 
our  meaning ;  which  is,  that  we  do  not  despise  the 
eminent,  noble,  and  gracious  queen,  and  her  wise  coun- 
cils, but  esteem  them  as  worthy  of  all  honor,  to  whom 
we  desire  to  be  obedient  in  all  things  that  we  may.  For 
we  confess  with  Paul,  as  above,  that  she  is  God's  servant, 
and  that  if  we  resist  this  power,  we  resist  the  ordinance 


28o  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

of  God ;  for  '  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works, 
but  to  the  evil.'  Therefore  we  confess  to  be  due  unto 
her,  and  are  ready  to  give,  tribute,  custom,  honor,  and 
fear,  as  Christ  himself  has  taught  us,  saying,  '  Render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's'  (Matt.  xxii.  21).  Since,  there- 
fore, she  is  a  servant  of  God,  we  will  kindly  pray  her 
majesty  that  it  would  please  her  to  show  pity  to  us  poor 
prisoners,  even  as  our  Father  in  heaven  is  pitiful  (Luke 
vi.  36).  We  likewise  do  not  approve  of  those  who  resist 
the  magistrates  ;  but  confess  and  declare  with  our  whole 
heart  that  we  must  be  obedient  and  subject  unto  them, 
as  we  have  here  set  down."  ^ 

But  it  availed  them  nothing.  They  were  Baptists. 
The  queen  was  told  that  the  Baptists  were  incorrigible 
heretics,  and  that  she  would  be  doing  God  service  if  she 
put  them  to  death.  So  she  lighted  again  the  flames  of 
Smithfield. 

I  have  referred  to  Sandys  and  Whitgift.  Their 
writings  teem  with  invectives  against  the  Baptists.  In 
his  controversy  with  Thomas  Cartwright,  the  Puritan, 
Whitgift  endeavored  to  show  that  the  arguments  em- 
ployed by  Cartwright  in  defence  of  separation  from  the 
Church  of  England  were  similar  to  those  used  by  the 
"Anabaptists,"  a  sect  which  was  "hated"  by  "all  estates 
and  orders  of  the  realm."  He  collected  a  number  of  ex- 
tracts from  the  writings  of  Zuingli,  Calvin,  Bullinger,  and 
others,  and  adopted  them  as  containing  true  descriptions 
of  the  opinions  and  practices  of  the  "hated"  party, 
adding  obsen^ations  of  his  own  to  the  same  effect.  He 
says  that  they  make  contentions  wheresoever  they  come ; 
^  Bloody  Theatre,  as  above. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  28 1 

that  the  churches  are  disquieted  by  them,  and  magi&- 
trates  contemned  and  despised  ;  that  "  they  do  with  as 
spiteful  words  and  bitter  speeches  condemn  the  Church 
of  England  as  they  do  the  Papistical  Church  ;"  that  they 
count  al!  them  as  wicked  and  reprobate  which  are  not  of 
their  sect ;  that  they  are  "  great  hypocrites  ;"  that  they 
constantly  "  invent  new  opinions,  and  run  from  error  to 
error" — that  they  are  "stubborn  and  willful,  wayward  and 
forward,  without  all  humanity" — that  the}'  seek  to  "  over- 
throw commonweals  and  states  of  government" — that 
they  "  reject  all  authority  of  superiors" — that  they  seek 
"  to  be  free  from  all  laws,  and  to  do  what  they  list,"  and 
finally,  that  all  this  is  "  most  true,  and  therefore  no 
slander."*  No  comment  on  these  monstrosities  is  re- 
quired. They  are  fair  specimens  of  the  controversial 
style  of  the  age. 

Doubtless,  it  was  an  unpardonable  sin  in  the  Baptists 
that  they  condemned  the  interference  of  the  civil  power 
with  religion.  They  were  remarkably  clear  on  that  sub- 
ject. Whitgift  unwittingly  does  them  justice.  He  ob- 
serves that  they  taught  that  "  the  civil  magistrate  hath  no 
authority  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  and  that  he  ought 
not  to  meddle  in  cases  of  religion  and  faith" — that  "no 
man  ought  to  be  compelled  to  faith  and  religion" — and 
that  "  Christians  ought  to  punish  faults,  not  with  im- 
prisonment, not  with  the  sword,  br  corporal  punishment, 
but  only  with  excommunication."  These  are  scriptural 
truths,  which  the  bishops  aforesaid  labored  to  suppress, 
because  their  own  nefarious  proceedings  were  inconsist- 
ent with  them. 

When  Terwoort  and  Pieters  were  led  cut  to  die,  Gerrit 
'  Works,  i.  78-110. 
24* 


aSa  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

van  Byler  and  Hans  van  Straten  were  left  in  Newgate, 
uncertain  as  to  their  fate.  How  long  they  remained 
there  is  not  known.  It  is  said  that  they  were  heavily 
ironed  because  they  had  endeavored  to  escape  by  filing 
asunder  the  bars  of  their  dungeon.  At  length  they  were 
discharged,  probably  because  the  governmer.t  was  un 
willing  to  incur  the  odium  of  another  burning. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Severity  of  Elizabeth's  Government — Bigotry  of  James  I. — The  Hamp- 
ton Court  Conference — Emigration — John  Smyth's  Church — Their 
Confessions — Bartholomew  Legate — Extracts  from  Baptist  Publica- 
tions on  Liberty  of  Conscience — The  King's  Distiess  at  their  Increase. 

OO  great  was  the  severity  of  Elizabeth's  government 
that  the  separatists  of  all  classes  were  scattered  about, 
and  forced  to  hold  their  meetings  in  utmost  privacy. 
The  Baptists,  having  been  especially  marked  out  for  ex- 
pulsion, could  scarcely  meet  at  all.  Consequently,  but 
little  is  known  of  them  during  the  remainder  of  this  reign. 
There  is  no  doubt,  however,  of  their  continued  existence. 
One  writer  refers  to  "  Anabaptist  conventicles"  in  Lon- 
don and  other  places.  Another  intimates  his  suspicion 
that  there  were  some  even  in  the  Church  of  England 
who  held  their  sentiments.  A  congregation  was  dis- 
covered in  London  in  15S8,  whose  views  and  practices 
point  them  out  as  "  Anabaptistical."  Strype  says  that 
they  were  accustomed  to  meet  together  on  Lord's  Days, 
and  listen  to  exhortations  from  the  word  of  God  ;  that 
tlie}  dined  together,  collected  money  to  pay  for  the  food, 
and  sent  the  surplus  to  such  of  their  brethren  as  were 
in  prison ;  that  they  used  no  form  of  prayer ;  that  they 
refused  to  regard  the  Church  of  England  as  a  true  church  ; 

283 


284  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

that  they  denied  the  authority  of  the  queen,  and  of  all 
magistrates,  in  religious  affairs,  and  that  they  held  it  un- 
lawful to  baptize  children.  At  a  still  later  period  a  Bap- 
tist is  mentioned  as  being  in  prison  at  Norwich,  and  in 
peril  of  df  ath,  solely  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions.^ 
James  I.  was  as  bigoted  and  despotic  as  Elizabeth 
While  in  Scotland  he  had  affected  great  zeal  for  Pres- 
bytei-ianism.  When  he  subscribed  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant  in  1590,  "he  praised  God  that  he  was 
born  in  the  time  of  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  in  such 
a  place,  as  to  be  king  of  such  a  church,  the  sincerest 
[purest]  kirk  in  the  world.  '  The  Church  of  Geneva, 
said  he,  '  keep  Pasch  and  Yule  [Easter  and  Christmas]  ; 
what  have  they  for  them }  They  have  no  institution. 
As  for  our  neighbor  Kirk  of  England,  their  sei'vice  is  an 
evil-said  mass  in  English ;  they  want  nothing  of  the 
mass  but  the  liftings.  I  charge  you,  my  good  ministers, 
doctors,  elders,  nobles,  gentlemen,  and  barons,  to  stand  to 
your  purity,  and  to  exhort  the  people  to  do  the  same  ;  and 
I,  forsooth,  as  long  as  I  brook  my  life,  shall  maintain  the 
same.'"^  But  on  his  rising  to  the  higher  dignity  of  king 
of  Great  Britain,  he  suddenly  became  enamored  of  Epis- 
copacy. Kingcraft,  in  which  he  thought  himself  an  adept, 
harmonized  better  with  bishops  than  with  presbyters. 
Bishops  seemed  to  be  the  natural  allies  of  sovereigns. 
*'No  bishop,  no  king,"  was  James'  motto.  Like  all  new 
converts,  he  evinced  remarkable  fervor  of  attachment,  and 
was  ready  to  do  anything  on  behalf  of  the  cause.  The 
Puritan  clergy,  that  is,  those  who  wished  for  more  liberty, 
and  desired  to  assimilate  the  government  of  the  church  to 

1  Broadmead  Records,  Introduction,  pp.  Ixxii.,  IxxiiL 
*  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  ii.  2. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  285 

the  Genevan  model,  asked  for  a  hearing.  The  result  was, 
the  event  known  in  history  as  the  Hampton  Court  Con- 
ference. It  was  no  conference,  however,  for  the  king  had 
made  up  his  mind  beforehand.  His  behavior  was  rude 
and  overbearing.  Nine  bishops,  with  other  dignitaries, 
appeared  in  support  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  of 
things  as  they  were ;  Dr.  Raynolds,  with  three  other 
ministers,  rej^resented  the  Puritans.  Their  demands 
were  comprised  in  four  particulars:  "  i.  That  the  doc- 
trines of  the  church  might  be  preserved  pure,  according 
to  God's  word.  2.  That  good  pastors  might  be  planted 
in  all  churches,  to  preach  in  the  same.  3.  That  the  book 
of  Common  Prayer  might  be  fitted  to  more  increase  of 
piety.  4.  That  church  government  might  be  sincerely 
ministered,  according  to  God's  word."  In  support  of 
these  requests.  Dr.  Raynolds  adduced  many  weighty  con- 
siderations, and  argued  with  great  modesty  and  forbear- 
ance, though  often  interrupted  and  insulted  by  the  king. 
"  Well,  doctor,"  said  James,  "  have  you  anything  else  to 
offer.?"  "  No  more,"  Dr.  R.  replied.  "  If  this,"  rejoined 
the  king,  "  be  all  your  party  have  to  say,  I  will  make 
them  conform,  or  I  will  hurry  them  out  of  the  land,  or 
else  worse."  ^ 

The  Puritans  saw  that  there  was  nothing  to  hope  for 
from  the  government,  and  took  measures  accordingly. 
Many  crossed  over  to  Holland.  Among  them  were  some 
of  the  Brownist  persuasion,  afterward  called  Independ- 
ents, and  now  Congregationalists.  Churches  of  that 
order  were  established  at  Leyden,  Amsterdam,  and  other 
places.  Such  as  could  not  leave  their  own  country 
worshiped  God  in  private,  and  kept  themselves  quiet, 
*  Neal,  ut  sup,  p.  10. 


286  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

hoping,  thoiigli  as  it  were  against  hope,  for  better  times. 
Of  that  class  were  many  Baptists.  Enoch  Clapiiam,  a 
writer  of  that  age,  speaks  of  them  as  "  leaving  the  public 
assemblies,  and  running  into  woods  and  meadows,  and 
meeting  in  bye  stables,  barns,  and  haylofts  for  service."^ 

John  Smyth  had  been  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  held  the  living  of  Gainsborough,  Lincoln- 
shire. On  leaving  that  church  he  became  a  minister 
among  the  Brownists,  who  esteemed  him  so  highly  that 
Bishop  Hall  calls  him  their  "oracle  in  general."  After 
a  toilsome  and  perilous  service  of  about  fifteen  years, 
during  which  he  and  his  friends  had  suffered  much  from 
Elizabethan  tyranny,  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  abandon 
the  field,  in  order  to  preserve  life  and  liberty.  In  the 
year  1606  he  joined  a  part}'^  of  emigrants  who  settled 
in  Amsterdam.  There  they  united  with  an  English 
church  which  had  been  formed  some  time  before.  But 
Mr.  Smyth's  connection  with  that  church  was  not  of 
long  duration.  He  had  left  the  Chuixh  of  England  for 
the  Brownists,  and  now  more  mature  reflection  led  him 
to  take  another  step.  The  Brownists  denied  that  the 
Church  of  England  was  a  true  church,  and  therefore 
they  reordained  all  ministers  who  went  over  to  them 
from  that  church,  accounting  its  ordinances  null  and 
void.  But  they  did  not  rebaptize.  This  appeared  to 
Mr.  Smyth  an  inconsistency.  He  thought  that  if  the 
ordination  was  invalid,  the  baptism  was  no  less  so.  In- 
vestigation followed,  which  was  extended  to  the  whole 
question  of  baptism,  and  issued  in  the  conviction  that 
oelievers  are  the  only  subjects  of  the  ordinance,  and  that 
immersion  is  essential  to  it.  Some  of  Mr.  Smyth's  friends 
1  Crosby,  i.  88. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  287 

shared  in  the  conviction.  There  has  been  much  dispute 
respecting  the  manner  in  which  they  proceeded,  some 
maintaining  that  Smyth  baptized  himself  and  then  bap- 
tized the  others.  It  is  a  thing  of  small  consequence. 
Baptists  do  not  believe  in  apostolic  succession,  as  it  is 
commonly  held.  But  the  probability  is,  that  one  of  the 
brethren  baptized  Mr.  Smyth,  and  that  he  then  baptized 
the  others.  The  number  of  these  brethren  soon  increased 
greatly.  A  church  was  formed,  of  which  Mr.  Smyth  was 
chosen  pastor.  At  his  death,  which  took  place  in  161 1, 
Mr.  Thomas  Helwys  was  appointed  in  his  place.  In  the 
above-mentioned  year,  before  Mr.  Smyth's  death,  the 
church  published  a  Confession  of  Faith,  in  twenty-six 
articles.  I  will  transcribe  those  which  relate  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  church  and  the  ordinances : 

"  10.  That  the  church  of  Christ  is  a  company  of  faithful 
people,  separated  from  the  world  by  the  word  and  Spirit 
of  God,  being  knit  unto  the  Lord,  and  one  unto  another, 
by  baptism,  upon  their  own  confession  of  the  faith  and 
sins  (i  Cor.  i.  2  ;  Ephes.  i.  i  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  17  ;  i  Cor.  xii. 
13  ;  Acts  viii.  37  ;  Matt.  iii.  6\. 

"II.  That  though  in  respect  of  Christ  the  church  be 
one,  yet  it  consisteth  of  divers  particular  congregations, 
even  so  many  as  there  shall  be  in  the  world  ;  every  of 
which  congregation,  though  they  be  but  two  or  three, 
have  Christ  given  them,  with  all  the  means  of  their  salva- 
tion, are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  a  whole  church  ;  and 
therefore  may  and  ought,  when  they  are  come  together, 
to  pray,  prophesy,  break  bread,  and  administer  in  all  the 
holy  ordinances,  although  as  yet  they  have  no  officers,  or 
that  their  officers  should  be  in  prison,  or  sick,  or  by  any 
other  means  hindered  from  the  church  (Ephes.  iv.  4  ;  Matt. 


I 


288  BAPTIST  HIS  TORI'. 

xvlii.  20 ;  Romans  viii.  33  ;  i  Cor.  iii.  22  ;  xii.  27  ;  xiv. 
23  ;   I  Peter  iv.  10 ;  ii.  5). 

"  12.  That  as  one  congregation  hath  Christ,  so  have 
all.  And  that  the  word  of  God  cometh  not  out  from  any 
one,  neither  to  any  one  congregation  in  particular,  but 
unto  every  particular  church,  as  it  doth  unto  all  the  w^orld. 
And  therefore  no  church  ought  to  challenge  any  pre- 
rogative over  any  other  (2  Cor.  x.  7  ;  i  Cor.  xiv.  36  ;  Col. 
i.  5,  6). 

"  13.  That  every  church  is  to  receive  in  all  their  mem- 
bers by  baptism,  upon  the  confession  of  their  faith  and 
sins  v^rought  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  according 
to  the  primitive  institution  and  practice.  And,  therefore, 
churches  constituted  after  any  other  manner,  or  of  any 
persons,  are  not  according  to  Christ's  Testament  (Matt, 
xxviii.  19;  Acts  ii.  41). 

"  14.  That  baptism,  or  w^ashing  with  water,  is  the  out- 
ward manifestation  of  dying  unto  sin,  and  walking  in 
newness  of  life  ;  and  therefore  in  nowise  appertaineth  to 
infants  (Rom.  vi.  2,  3,  4). 

"  15.  That  the  Lord's  supper  is  the  outward  manifesta- 
tion of  the  spiritual  communion  between  Christ  and  the 
faithful,  mutually  to  declare  his  death  until  he  come  (i 
Cor.  X.  16,  17  ;  xi.  26). 

"  19.  That  every  church  ought,  according  to  the  ex- 
ample of  Christ's  disciples  and  primitive  churches,  upon 
every  first  day  of  the  week,  being  Lord's  Day,  to  assem- 
ble together,  to  pray,  prophesy,  praise  God,  and  break 
bread,  and  perform  all  other  parts  of  spiritual  communion, 
''or  the  worship  of  God,  their  own  mutual  edification,  and 
the  preservation  of  true  religion  and  piety  in  the  church 
(John  XX.  19;  Acts  ii.  42;  xx.  7;   i  Cor.  xvi.  2).     And 


THE     TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  289 

tney  ought  not  to  labor  in  their'callings,  according  to  the 
equity  of  the  moral  law,  which  Christ  came  not  to  abolish, 
but  to  fulfill  (Exod.  XX.  8,  etc.). 

"  20.  That  the  officers  of  every  church  or  congregation 
are  either  elders,  who  by  their  office  do  especially  feed  the 
flock  concerning  their  souls  ;  or  deacons,  men  and  women, 
who  by  their  office  relieve  the  necessities  of  the  poor  and 
impotent  brethren,  concerning  their  bodies  (Acts  xx.  28  ; 
I  Peter  v.  2,  3  ;  Acts  vi.  i.  4). 

"21.  That  these  officers  are  to  be  chosen  when  there 
are  persons  qualified  according  to  the  rules  in  Christ's 
Testament,  by  election  and  approbation  of  that  church  or 
congregation  whereof  they  are  members,  with  fasting, 
prayer,  and  laying  on  of  hands ;  and  there  being  but 
one  rule  for  elders,  therefore  but  one  sort  of  elders"  (i 
Tim.  iii.  2,  7 ;  Titus  i.  6,  9 ;  Acts  vi.  3,  4 ;  xiii.  3  ; 
xiv.  23).^ 

Shortly  after  the  publication  of  the  Confession,  Mr. 
Helwys,  accompanied  by  most  of  the  members  of  the 
church,  returned  to  England.  They  feared  that  if  they 
remained  longer  abroad  in  a  foreign  country,  it  would  be 
regarded  as  cowardice.  They  considered,  too,  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  brethren  who  had  continued  in  their 
own  land,  and  who  were  "  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd." 
So  they  went  back  to  their  native  shores,  and  established 
themselves  in  London,  meeting  for  worship  in  strict  pri- 
vacy. They  had  encountered  a  great  risk  in  returning  at 
such  a  time.  The  fires  of  pei'secution  had  been  lighted 
again,  and  men  burned  to  ashes  for  heresy.  On  the  i8th 
of  March,  161 2,  Bartholomew  Legate,  an  Arian,  suffered 
at  the  stake  'in  Smithfield  ;  on  the  nth  of  April,  in  the 

•  Confessions  of  Faith  (  Hanserd  Knollys  So:iety),  pp.  l-io. 
2& 


290  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

same  year,  Edward  Wightman  was  put  to  death  at  Lich- 
field in  the  same  manner.  This  man,  if  the  warrant  for 
his  execution  may  be  believed,  was  a  wholesale  heretic, 
for  he  was  charged  with  "  the  wicked  heresies  of  Ebion, 
Cerinthus,  Valentinus,  Arius,  Macedonius,  Simon  Magus, 
of  Manes,  Photinus,  and  of  the  Anabaptists  and  other 
arch-heretics  ;  and  moreover,  of  other  cursed  opinions, 
belched,  by  the  instinct  of  Satan  excogitated,  and  hereto- 
fore unheard  of."  He  maintained  "  that  the  baptism  of 
infants  is  an  abominable  custom,"  and  "  that  Christianity 
is  not  wholly  professed  and  preached  in  the  Church  of 
England,  but  in  part."  There  was  his  real  delinquency. 
But  the  public,  even  in  those  days,  would  have  protested 
against  burning  a  man  merely  for  his  Baptist  and  anti- 
Church  of  England  principles.  It  was  found  necessary, 
therefore,  to  blacken  the  victim  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
might  appear  perfectly  hideous  and  fit  only  for  the  fire. 
But  Bishop  Neile,  of  Lichfield,  and  his  coadjutors,  who 
acted  as  royal  commissioners  on  the  occasion,  were 
manifestly  "  forgers  of  lies."  No  sane  man  could  pos- 
sibly hold  the  multifarious  opinions  imputed  to  Wight- 
man.  Crosby  appropriately  remarks  that  "  many  of  the 
heresies  they  charge  upon  him  are  so  foolish  and  incon- 
sistent that  it  very  much  discredits  what  they  say ;"  and 
that  '*  if  he  really  held  such  opinions  he  must  either  be 
nn  idiot  or  a  madman,  and  ought  rather  to  have  had 
their  prayers  and  assistance  than  be  put  to  such  a  cruel 
death."  ^ 

Another  person,  said  "to  be  a  "  Spanish  Arian,"  was 
also  condemned  to  die  ;  but  so  much  sympathy  had  been 
expressed  by  the  people  at  the  other  executions  that  "  he 
'  History,  \.  108,  Appendix,  pp.  1-7. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  29 1 

was  suffered  to  linger  out  his  life  in  Newgate,  where  he 
ended  the  same  ;"  for  "  King  James  politicly  preferred," 
says  Thomas  Fuller,  "that  heretics  hereafter,  though  con- 
demned, should  silently  and  privately  waste  themselves 
away  in  the  prison,  rather  than  to  grace  them,  and  amuse 
others,  with  the  solemnity  of  a  public  execution,  which 
in  popular  judgment  usurped  the  honor  of  a  persecution." 
Fuller  had  before  observed  that  "  such  burning  of  here- 
tics much  startled  common  people,"  and  that  "  the  pur- 
blind eyes  of  common  judgments  looked  only  on  what 
was  next  to  them — the  suffering  itself — which  they  beheld 
with  compassion,  not  minding  the  demerits  of  the  guilt, 
'which  deserved  the  same."  ^  Thus  wrote  a  Protestant 
clergymen  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  but  murder  is 
murder,  however  perpetrated,  whether  by  the  sword,  the 
fire,  or  the  slower  process  of  the  dungeon. 

Though  the  Baptists  were  debarred  the  use  of  the  pul- 
pit, the  press  did  them  good  service.  Two  tracts  pub- 
lished by  them  soon  after  the  events  just  recorded  were 
honorable  alike  to  their  good  sense  and  pious  feeling. 
The  first  appeared  in  1614.  It  was  entitled,  "  Religion's 
Peace,  cr,  a  Plea  for  Liberty  of  Conscience,"  and  is  the 
earliest  published  work  on  the  subject  in  the  English 
language.  Of  the  author,  Leonard  Busher,  no  account 
has  been  preserved.  It  may  be  gathered  from  the  tract 
itself  that  he  had  formerly  belonged  to  the  Brownists. 
He  was  acquainted  with  the  Greek  original  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  was  a  diligent  student  of  the  sacred 
volume.  Two  other  tracts  were  written  by  him,  which 
poverty  prevented  him  from  printing.  One  was  entitled, 
"  A  Scourge  of  Small  Cords,  wherewith  Antichrist  and 
1  Church  History,  book  x.  cent,  17,  sect  14. 


292  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

his  Ministers  might  be  driven  out  of  the  Temple  of  God  ;"* 
the  other,  "  A  Declaration  of  certain  False  Translations 
in  the  New  Testament."  Our  authorized  version  had  been 
published  but  three  years,  and  here  was  revision  already 
threatened  ! 

"  Religion's  Peace"  contains  an  address  to  the  king  and 
parliament,  earnestly  pleading  for  pardon,  and  "  certain 
reasons  against  prosecution." 

I  will  copy  a  few  passages,  that  it  may  be  seen  how  a 
Baptist  thought  and  wrote,  and  was  bold  enough  to  pub- 
lish, in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  on  this 
important  question. 

"  Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  therefore  it  may 
not  be  purchased  nor  defended  with  the  weapons  of  this 
world,  but  by  his  word  and  Spirit.  No  other  weapons 
hath  he  given  to  his  church,  which  is  his  spiritual  king- 
dom. Therefore  Christ  saith,  '  He  that  will  not  hear  the 
church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  a  heathen  and  a  publican.' 
He  saith  not,  '  Burn,  banish,  or  imprison  him  ;'  that  is 
Antichrist's  ordinance. 

"•'  It  is  not  only  unmerciful,  but  unnatural  and  abomin- 
able, yea  monstrous,  for  one  Christian  to  vex  and  destroy 
another  for  difference  and  questions  of  religion.  And 
though  tares  have  overgrown  the  wheat,  yet  Christ  will 
have  them  let  alone  till  harvest,  '  lest  while  you  go  about 
to  pluck  up  the  tares,  you  pluck  up  also  the  wheat  with 
them ;'  as  your  predecessors  have  done,  who  thought 
they  had  gathered  up  the  tares  and  burned  them,  but 
you  see  now  that  they  have  burned  the  wheat  instead 
of  tares.  Wherefore,  in  all  humility  and  Christian 
modesty,  I  do  affirm  that  through  the  unlawful  weed- 
work  of  persecution,  which  your  predecessors  have  used, 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  293 

and  by  your  majesty  and  parliament  is  still  continued, 
there  is  such  a  quantity  of  wheat  plucked  up,  and  such 
a  multitude  of  tares  left  behind,  that  the  wheat  which 
remains  cannot  yet  appear  in  any  right  visible  congrega- 
tion. 

"It  is  not  the  gallows,  nor  the  prisons,  nor  burning, 
nor  banishing  that  can  defend  the  apostolic  faith.  In- 
deed, the  king  and  state  may  defend  religious  peace  [that 
is,  protect  all  parties  in  the  exercise  of  religion]  by  their 
sword  and  civil  power,  but  not  the  faith,  otherwise  than 
by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God. 

"  They  cannot  be  Christ's  bishops  and  preachers  that 
persuade  princes  and  people  to  such  antichristian  tyranny 
and  cruelty ;  and  it  is  very  evident  that  those  bishops  and 
ministers  which  give  over  men  and  women  to  the  magis- 
trate to  be  persuaded  by  persecution,  do  show  clearly 
that  their  doctrine  is  not  good,  and  that  they  want  the 
word  and  Spirit  of  God,  and  therefore  flee  to  the  magis- 
trate's sword  for  the  forcing  of  them  to  their  faith  and 
discipline. 

"  I  do  verily  believe  that  if  free  liberty  of  conscience  be 
granted  that  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  these  idol-bishops 
will  in  time  fall  to  the  ground  of  itself,  as  the  idol  Dagon 
fell  before  the  ark.  For  through  the  knowledge  of  God's 
word  all  godly  people  will  withdraw  themselves,  in  all 
peaceable  and  godly  wise,  from  the  spiritual  obedience  of 
these  spiritual  lords  and  idol-bishops,  and  quietly  betake 
themselves  unto  the  obedience  of  the  only  spiritual  Lord, 
Jesus  Messiah."^ 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  no  knowledge 

^  TrcKts  on  Liberty  of  Cotiscitnce,  Hanserd  Knolly's  Society,  pp.  18, 
24,  54,  60,  66. 


294  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

of  the  life  and  labors  of  the  good  man  who  penned  these 
plain  and  pithy  sentences. 

The  other  treatise  was  somewhat  larger.  It  was  issued 
in  1615.  The  original  title  was,  "  Objections  answered 
by  way  o!  Dialogue  ;  wherein  is  proved  by  the  law  of 
God,  by  the  law  of  our  land,  and  by  his  majesty's  many 
testimonies,  that  no  man  ought  to  be  persecuted  for  his 
religion,  so  he  testify  his  allegiance  by  the  oath  appointed 
by  law."  In  an  edition  published  in  1662  it  was  entitled 
"  Persecution  for  Religion,  Judged  and  Condemned." 
The  author  was  a  member  of  Mr.  Helwys'  church.  The 
work  is  constructed  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  in  which 
•' Antichristian"  defends  the  interference  of  the  magistrate 
in  the  affairs  of  religion,  and  his  power  to  proscribe  and 
punish  ;  "  Christian"  replies  to  his  argument — and  "  In- 
different Person"  listens  to  the  discussion.  That  question 
being  settled,  "  Indifferent  Person"  is  represented  as  in- 
quiring into  the  grounds  of  Baptist  tenets  and  practices, 
which  are  so  clearly  explained  that  he  declares  himself 
convinced,  and  intimates  his  intention  to  join  the  perse- 
cuted sect. 

.  The  argument  against  persecution  is  handled  in  a  mas- 
terly manner.  And  it  is  observable  that  the  author  takes 
the  most  liberal  position.  He  avows  his  abhori'ence  of 
all  persecution,  and  would  grant  religious  freedom  c  ren 
to  the  Papists,  in  which  respect  he  is  far  in  advance  of  all 
the  re'igionists  of  his  time.  "  For  the  Papists,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  may  it  not  be  justly  suspected  that  one  chief 
cause  of  all  their  treasons  hath  been  because  of  all  the 
compulsions  that  have  been  used  against  their  consciences, 
in  compelling  them  to  the  worship  practiced  in  public, 
according  to  the  law  of  this  land ;  which  being  taken 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  295 

away,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  they  would  be  much 
more  peaceable,  as  we  see  it  verified  in  divers  other  na- 
tions, where  no  such  compulsion  is  used ;  for  if  they 
might  have  freedom  in  their  religion  unto  their  faithful 
allegiance  to  the  king,  the  fear  of  the  king's  laws,  and 
their  own  prosperity  and  peace  would  make  them  live 
more  inoffensively  in  that  .-espect."  ^  In  the  discussion 
on  Baptist  sentiments,  an  interesting  inquiry  is  started. 
Thus  the  dialogue  proceeds. : 

"  Indifferent  Person.  May  none  be  admitted  to  the 
church  to  partake  in  the  ordinances,  except  they  be  bap- 
tized ? 

"  Christian.  If  any  teach  otherwise,  he  presumeth 
*  above  that  which  is  written,'  and  therefore  ought  to  be 
held  '  accursed.'  For  there  never  was  a  true  church 
since  Christ's  manifesting  in  the  flesh,  joined  together  of 
unbaptized  persons,  though  some  have  vainly  published 
the  contrary. 

"  /.  True,  I  think  that  cannot  be  denied,  where  the 
persons  were  never  baptized  ;  but  now  the  members  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  from  whence  the  baptism  of  the 
Church  of  England  cometh,  are  baptized  ;  therefore'  why 
need  they  again  be  baptized  ? 

"  C.  If  they  be  baptized  with  Christ's  baptism,  I  will 
acknowledge  they  need  not  again  be  baptized  ;  but  that 
the  baptism  of  the  Charch  of  Rome  is  Christ's  baptism 
can  never  be  proved ;  for  Christ  requireth  that  only  his 
disciple  should  baptize  his  disciple,  and  into  his  body ; 
none  of  which  is  Rome's  baptism.  For  Christ's  adver 
saries  washed  with  water  those  that  are  not  Christ's  disci 
pies,  into  the  body,  not  of  Christ,  but  of  Antichrist." 
1  Tracts,  as  above,  p.  114. 


296  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Having  proved  that  the  Romish  and  English  Churches 
are  altogether  corrupt,  neither  of  them  administering  true 
baptism,  and  both  being  founded  on  anti-biblical  princi- 
ples, "  Christian "  is  asked,  "  Who  then  shall  baptize 
after  Antichrist's  exaltation?"  That  is,  how  shall  bap- 
tism be  recovered,  where  it  has  been  lost  through  the  long 
pievalence  of  antichristian  rule?  The  answer  is  thus 
given :  "  We  and  others  affirm,  that  any  disciple  of 
Chi'ist,  in  what  part  of  the  world  soever,  coming  to  the 
Loi'd's  way,  he  by  the  woi'd  and  Spirit  of  God  preach- 
ing that  way  unto  others  and  converting — he  may  and 
ought  also  to  baptize  them."  Again  ;  having  referred  to 
the  command  given  to  every  Israelite  to  go  and  build  the 
Temple  after  the  captivity  (Ezra  i.  3,  5),  he  adds — "  So 
now,  every  spiritual  Israelite  with  whom  the  Lord  is,  and 
whose  spirit  the  Lord  stirreth  up,  are  commanded  to  go 
and  build,  and  the  Lord  will  prosper  them  in  rising  up 
and  building,  though  some  be  more  excellent  in  the 
business  than  others ;  the  beginning  of  which  spiritual 
building  is  first  to  beget  men  anew  by  the  immortal  seed 
of  God's  word,  so  making  them  living  stones,  and  there- 
upon to  couple  them  together  a  spiritual  house  unto  God, 
upon  the  confession  of  their  faith  by  baptism,  as  the 
Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  everywhere  teach."  ^ 

These  extracts  will  serve  to  show  that  our  Baptist  fore- 
fathers were  distinguished  for  mental  vigor  and  independ- 
ence. They  had  shot  ahead  of  their  religious  contem- 
poraries, too  many  of  whom,  instead  of  sympathizing 
with  them,  caricatured  their  principles  and  excited  popu- 
lar fury  against  their  persons. 

How  severely  the  Baptists  suffered  m  the  reign  of 
1  Tracts,  pp.  158-166. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  297 

James  I.  may  be  gathered  from  a  statement  made  by  one 
of  them  in  1620:  "Our  miseries  are  long  and  lingering 
imprisonments  for  many  years  in  divers  counties  of  Eng- 
land, in  which  many  have  died  and  left  behind  them 
widows  and  many  small  children  ;  taking  away  our  goods, 
and  others  the  like,  of  which  we  can  make  good  proba- 
tion ;  not  for  any  disloyalty  to  your  majesty,  nor  hurt  to 
any  mortal  man,  our  adversaries  themselves  being  judges  ; 
but  only  because  we  dare  not  assent  unto,  and  practice  in 
the  worship  of  God,  such  things  as  we  have  not  faith  in, 
because  it  is  sin  against  the  Most  High."  This  passage 
is  taken  from  a  tract  entitled  "  A  Most  Humble  Suppli- 
cation of  many  of  the  king's  majesty's  loyal  subjects, 
ready  to  testify  all  civil  obedience,  by  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance or  otherwise,  and  that  of  conscience ;  who  are 
persecuted  (only  for  differing  in  religion),  contrary  to 
divine  and  human  testimonies." '  After  an  interval  of 
several  years,  a  parliament  was  about  to  assemble.  The 
"  Humble  Supplication "  was  written  on  that  occasion, 
and  it  was  hoped  that  the  patriotic  men,  who  had  signi- 
fied their  intention  to  seek  redress  of  all  grievances  and 
the  restoration  of  freedom,  would  hear  the  complaints  of 
persecuted  Christians,  The  treatise  was  probably  written 
by  the  author  of  "  Persecution  Judged  and  Condemned  ;" 
but  the  arguments  are  more  systematically  arranged  than  in 
that  work.  The  follov^^ing  are  the  titles  of  the  chapters  : 
"  I.  The  rule  of  faith  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
contained  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  not  any  church, 
council,  prince  or  potentate,  nor  any  mortal  man  what- 
soever. 2.  The  interpreter  of  this  rule  is  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  in  whomsoever.  3.  The  Spirit  of 
1  Tracts,  p.  190. 


298  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

God,  to  understand  and  interpret  the  Scriptures,  is  given 
to  all  and  every  particular  person  that  fear  and  obey  God, 
of  what  degree  soever  they  be  ;  and  not  to  the  wicked. 
4.  Those  that  fear  and  obey  God,  and  so  have  the  Spirit 
of  God  to  search  out  the  mind  of  God  in  the  Scriptures, 
are  commonly,  and  for  the  most  part,  the  simple,  poor, 
and  despised,  etc.  5.  The  learned  in  human  learning  do 
commonly  and  for  the  most  part  err,  and  know  not  the 
truth,  but  persecute  it,  and  the  professors  of  it ;  and  thei-e- 
fore  are  no  farther  to  be  followed  than  we  see  them  agree 
with  truth.  6.  Persecution  for  cause  of  conscience  is 
against  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ,  King  of  kings.  7. 
Persecution  for  cause  of  conscience  is  against  the  pro- 
fession and  practice  of  famous  princes.  8.  Persecution 
for  cause  of  conscience  is  condemned  by  the  ancient  and 
later  writers,  yea,  by  Puritans  and  Papists.  9.  It  is  no 
prejudice  to  the  commonwealth  if  freedom  of  religion 
were  suffered,  but  would  make  it  flourish.  10.  Kings 
are  not  deprived  of  any  power  given  them  of  God  when 
they  maintain  freedom  for  cause  of  conscience." 

"  The  author  of  these  arguments  against  persecutions," 
says  Roger  Williams,  "  as  I  have  been  informed,  being 
committed  by  some  then  in  power  close  prisoners  to  New- 
gate, for  the  witness  of  some  truths  of  Jesus,  and  having 
not  the  use  of  pen  and  ink,  wrote  these  arguments  in  milk, 
on  sheets  of  paper  brought  him  by  the  woman,  his 
keeper,  from  a  friend  in  London,  as  the  stopples  of  his 
milk  bottle. 

"  In  such  paper,  written  with  milk,  nothing  will  ap- 
pear ;  but  the  way  of  reading  it  by  fire  being  known  to 
this  friend  who  received  the  papers,  he  transcribed  and 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  299 

kept  together  the  papers,  although  the  author  himself 
could  not  correct  nor  view  what  himself  had  written."^ 

This  appeal  was  presented  in  vain.  The  persecution 
continued.  Messrs.  Dodd  and  Cleaver,  two  authors  of 
the  time,  who  published  in  partnership  a  pamphlet,  in 

1621,  entitled  "The  Patrimony  of  Christian  Children," 
assign  as  reasons  for  engaging  in  this  controversy,  "  that 
those  of  the  contrary  opinion  were  very  industrious,  and 
took  great  pains  to  propagate  their  doctrine ;  that  divers 
persons  of  good  note  for  piety  had  been  prevailed  upon 
by  them  ;  that  several  had  entreated  their  help  and  assist- 
ance ;  and  that  they  had  been  engaged  already  in  private 
debates  about  this  matter."  *  Another  person,  writing  in 
1662,  states  "  that  they  [the  Baptists]  separated  from  the 
church,  and  writ  many  books  in  defence  of  their  princi- 
ples, and  had  multitudes  of  disciples ;  that  it  was  their 
custom  to  produce  a  great  number  of  Scriptures  to  prove 
their  doctrines  ;  that  they  vvere  in  appearance  more  holy 
than  those  of  the  Established  Church." ' 

It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  Baptists  were  an 
active  and  growing  body.  This  is  further  evident  from 
a  letter  addressed  to  the  clergy  by  Archbishop  Abbot  in 

1622,  in  which  he  tells  them  that  his  majesty  was  "much 
troubled  and  grieved  at  the  heart,  to  hear  every  day  of  so 
much  defection  from  our  religion,  both  to  Popery  and 
Anabaptism,  or  other  points  of  separation,  in  some  parts 
of  this  kingdom ;"  and  that  he  attributed  these  defections, 
in  great  measure,  to  the  "  lightness,  affectedness,  and 
unprofitableness  of  that  kind  of  preaching  which  hath 
been  of  late  years  too  much  taken  up  in  court,  university, 

1  Bloody  Tetiet  of  Persecution,  p.  36.     Hanserd   Knollys  Society. 

2  Crosby,  i.  141.  '  Ibid.  p.  139. 


300  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

city  and  country.  The  usual  scope  of  very  many  preach- 
ers," it  is  added,  "  is  noted  to  be  a  soaring  up  in  points 
of  divinity,  too  deep  for  the  capacity  of  the  people,  or  a 
mustering  up  of  much  reading,  or  the  displaying  of  their 
own  wit,  or  an  ignorant  meddling  with  civil  matters,  as 
■well  in  the  private  of  several  parishes  and  corporations, 
as  in  the  public  of  the  kingdom,  or  a  venting  of  their  own 
distastes,  or  a  smoothing  up  of  those  idle  fancies  which 
in  this  blessed  time  of  a  long  peace  do  boil  in  the  brains 
of  unadvised  people  ;  or  lastly,  a  rude  or  undecent  railing, 
not  against  the  doctrines  (which  when  the  text  shall  oc- 
casion the  same  is  not  only  approved,  but  much  com- 
mended by  his  royal  majesty),  but  against  the  persons  of 
Papists  and  Puritans.  Now  the  people  bred  up  with  this 
kind  of  teaching,  and  never  instructed  in  the  catechism 
and  fundamental  grounds  of  religion,  are  for  all  this  airy 
nourishment  no  better  than  '  abrasse  tabulae,'  new  table 
books,  ready  to  be  filled  up  with  the  manuals  and  cate- 
chisms of  the  Popish  priests,  or  the  papers  and  pamphlets 
of  Anabaptists,  Brownists,  and  Puritans."  ^ 

I  think  the  king  was  right.  The  preachers  of  the  day 
had  not  been  educated,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  best 
school,  and  knew  not  how  to  engage  the  sympathies  of 
the  people.  Puritans  and  Baptists  were  much  more  likely 
to  gain  the  popular  ear.  It  was  said  of  our  Lord,  that 
"  the  common  people  heard  him  gladly." 

1  Documetttary  Annals,  ii.  204 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Character  of  Charles  I. — Sufferings  during  his  Reign — First  Particular 
Baptist  Church — Samuel  Howe — Dr.  Featley's  Book — Baptist  Confes- 
sions of  Faith — Toleration  hated  by  the  Presbyterians — Their  At- 
tempts to  put  down  the  Baptists — Milton's  Lines — The  Assembly  of 
Divines — Outcry  against  Immersions — Parliamentary  Declaration  in 
favor  of  the  Baptists — Fearful  "  Ordinance"  against  them — Their  Ac- 
tivity during  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Protectorate — Cromwell's 
Baptist  Officers— The  "  Triers"— Baptists  in  Ireland. 

CHARLES  I.  succeeded  his  father,  James  I.,  in  1625. 
In  religion  he  was  a  Romish  Protestant.  Politically, 
he  believed  in  the  one-man  system  of  government,  regard- 
ing the  people  as  ciphers,  and  lost  his  life  by  pertina- 
ciously laboring  to  put  it  in  practice.  Morally,  he  M^as 
made  up  of  negations ;  he  wanted  principle,  sincerit}-, 
and  steadfastness.  The  Church  of  England  used  to  call 
him  a  "  martyr,"  but  the  annual  service  in  commemora- 
tion of  his  death  is  now  discontinued.  We  may  call  him 
a  "  martyr-maker."  His  reign  up  to  the  time  of  the  as- 
sembling of  the  Long  Parliament,  was  distinguished  by 
unremitting  persecution  of  all  dissenters  from  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  of  all  who  still  remained  in  the  church, 
but  scrupled  conformity  to  some  of  its  ceremonies  and 
laws.  The  High  Commission  Court,  first  established  by 
26  301 


302  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

Queen  Elizabeth,  to  which  court  was  entrusted  the  exer- 
else  of  the  royal  authority  in  things  ecclesiastical,  was  in 
reality  a  Protestant  Inquisition.  It  possessed  absolute 
power  to  fine,  imprison,  and  otherwise  punish  all  alleged 
delinquents,  and  from  its  decisions  there  was  no  appeal. 
So  severe  were  the  proceedings  of  that  tribunal  that  great 
numbers  fled  the  country  to  avoid  them — some  to  Holland, 
some  to  New  England. 

The  Baptists  had  their  share  in  those  sufferings,  but 
the  particulars  have  been  imperfectly  recorded.  One 
case,  casually  mentioned  in  Neal's  "  History  of  the  Puri- 
tans," may  be  regarded  as  an  index  of  their  condition. 
Among  the  ministers  whose  imprisonment  for  religion  is 
noticed,  the  name  of  Mr.  Thomas  Brewer  occurs,  "  a 
Baptist  preacher,"  whose  confinement  extended  to  four- 
teen years.  What  times  were  those,  when  a  man  was 
suffered  to  lie  in  jail  fourteen  years  for  being  a  "  Baptist 
preacher!"^ 

In  the  year  1633  an  event  occurred  which  requires 
specific  notice.  This  was  the  formation  of  the  first 
Particular  or  Calvinistic  Baptist  Church  in  England. 
Hitherto  the  Baptists  favored  the  Arminlan  views. 
William  Kifiin  gives  the  following  account :  "  There  was 
a  congregation  of  Protestant  Dissenters  of  the  Independ- 
ent persuasion  in  London,  gathered  in  the  year  1616, 
whereof  Mr.  Henry  Jacob  was  the  first  pastor,  and  after 
him  succeeded  Mr.  John  Lathorp,  who  was  their  minister 
at  this  time.  In  this  society  several  persons,  finding 
that  the  congregation  kept  not  to  their  first  principles  of 
separation,  and  being  also  convinced  that  baptism  was 
not  to  be  administered  to  infants,  but  to  such  only  as 
'  Neal,  ii.  329. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  303 

professed  faith  in  Christ,  desired  that  they  might  be  dis- 
missed from  that  communion,  and  allowed  to  form  a  dis- 
tinct congregation,  in  such  order  as  was  most  agreeable 
to  their  own  sentiments.  The  church,  considering  that 
they  were  now  grown  very  numerous,  and  so  more  than 
could  in  these  times  of  persecution  conveniently  meet 
t  )gether,  and  believing  also  that  those  persons  acted  from 
a  principle  of  conscience,  and  not  obstinacy,  agreed  to 
allow  them  the  liberty  they  desired,  and  that  they  should 
be  constituted  a  distinct  church  ;  which  was  performed 
the  1 2th  of  September,  1633.  Xnd  as  they  believed  that 
baptism  was  not  rightly  administered  to  infants,  so  they 
looked  upon  the  baptism  they  had  received  in  that  age  as 
invalid ;  whereupon  most  or  all  of  them  received  a  new 
baptism.  Their  minister  was  Mr.  John  Spilsbury.  What 
number  they  were  is  uncertain,  because  in  the  mention- 
ing of  the  names  of  about  twenty  men  and  women,  it  is 
added,  'with  divers  others.'"^ 

As  the  time  of  enlarged  freedom  drew  near,  the  tyrants 
increased  in  rage.  Seventeen  canons  were  passed  by  the 
convocation  of  the  clergy  in  the  early  part  of  1640,  the 
fifth  of  which  was  directed  "  against  sectaries."  Having 
ordered  that  Popish  recusants  who  refused  to  conform 
should  be  excommunicated,  and  that  the  civil  power 
should  be  requested  to  aid  in  carrying  the  sentence  into 
effect,  these  words  were  added :  "  The  synod  decrees, 
that  the  canon  above-mentioned  against  Papists  shall 
be  in  full  force  against  all  Anabaptists,  Brownists, 
Separatists,  and  other  sectaries,  as  far  as  they  are  ap- 
plicable."^ 

An  excommunicated  person  is  forbidden  what  is  called 
»  Crosby,  i.  148.  «  Foid.  p.  151. 


304  BAPTIST  HISTORT, 

Christian  burial.  Samuel  Howe,  a  Baptist  minister, 
who  died  in  prison  about  this  time,  while  under  excom- 
munication, was  buried  in  the  highway ;  interment  in 
consecrated  ground,  so  called,  being  refused.  Mr.  Howe 
was  a  popular  preacher,  but  uneducated,  and  on  that 
account,  it  seems,  vilified  by  some,  who  were  unable  to 
distinguish  between  university  learning  and  absolute 
ignorance  ;  and  who  chose  to  regard  those  who  had  not 
received  college  education  as  disqualified  for  the  minis- 
terial office,  notwithstanding  their  religious  attainments, 
or  even  their  profound  acquaintance  with  Scripture.  In 
this  latter  respect  Mr.  Howe  excelled  most  men.  But  in 
defending  himself  from  their  attacks  he  certainly  ex- 
ceeded the  bounds  of  moderation.  In  a  treatise  which 
he  published,  entitled,  "  The  sufficiency  of  the  Spirit's 
teaching,  without  human  learning,"  he  attempted  to 
show,  not  only  that  human  learning  is  an  insufficient 
guide  in  religion,  but  that  it  is  "  dangerous  and  hurtful." 
The  following  lines  appear  on  the  title-page : 

"  What  How  ?  how  now  ?     Hath  How  such  learning  found, 
To  throw  Art's  curious  image  to  the  ground  ? 
Cambridge  and  Oxford  may  their  glory  now 
Veil  to  a  Cobbler,  if  they  know  but  How.'''' 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Howe  was  a  good  and  useful  man. 
Roger  Williams  has  this  reference  to  him :  "  Amongst 
so  many  instances,  dead  and  living,  to  the  everlasting 
praise  of  Christ  Jesus,  and  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  breathing 
and  blessing  where  he  listeth,  I  cannot  but  with  honor 
able  testimony  remember  that  eminent  Christian  witness 
and  prophet  of  Christ,  even  that  despised  and  3'et  beloved 
Samuel  Howe,  who  being  by  calling  a  cobbler,  and  with- 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  305 

out  learning  (which  yet  in  its  sphere  and  place  he  hon- 
ored), who  yet,  I  say,  by  searching  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
grew  so  excellent  a  textuary,  or  Scripture-learned  man, 
that  few  of  those  high  rabbies  that  scorn  to  mend  or  make 
rt  shoe,  could  aptly  or  readily,  from  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
outgo  him.  And  however,  through  the  oppressions 
upon  some  men's  consciences  even  in  life  and  death,  and 
after  death,  in  respect  of  burying,  as  yet  unthought  of 
and  unremedied — I  say,  however  he  was  forced  to  seek 
a  grave  or  bed  in  the  highway,  yet  was  his  life,  and 
death,  and  burial — being  attended  with  many  hundreds 
of  God's  people — honorable  and  (how  much  more  on  his 
rising  again)  glorious.'"  The  barbarit}'  attending  his 
burial  was  characteristic  of  the  age. 

Immediately  after  the  commencement  of  the  contest 
between  Charles  I.  and  the  Long  Parliament,  freedom  in 
religion  advanced  with  rapid  strides.  The  chief  restraints 
of  law  being  removed  by  the  abolition  of  the  High  Com- 
mission Court  and  the  downfall  of  the  hierarchy,  all  par- 
ties claimed  and  exercised  liberty  of  worship.  The  Bap- 
tists increased  very  fast,  greatly  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
Presbyterian  party,  which  was  then  in  the  ascendant.  A 
book  published  in  1644,  by  Dr.  Featley,  may  be  taken  as 
the  exponent  of  the  feelings  entertained  toward  them. 
Or.  Featley  had  been  engaged  in  a  public  disputation  with 
the  Baptists,  and  he  printed  an  account  of  it,  in  which 
he  claimed  the  victory.  The  book  was  entitled,  "  The 
Dippers  Dipt,  or  the  Anabaptists  ducked  and  plunged 
over  head  and  ears  at  a  Disputation  in  Southwark."  He 
calls  the  Baptists  an  illiterate  and  sottish  sect — a  lying 

1  TTu  Hireling  Ministry  none  of  Christ's^  p.  ii,  quoted  in  Ivimey's 
History  of  the  Baptists,  i.  155. 


3o6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

and  blasphemous  sect — an  impure  and  carnal  sect — a 
bloody  and  cruel  sect — a  profane  and  sacrilegious  sect. 
His  malice  is  thus  expressed  in  the  "Epistle  Dedicatory"  : 
"  Of  all  heretics  and  schismatics,  the  Anabaptists  ought 
to  be  most  carefully  looked  unto  and  severely  punished, 
if  not  utterly  exterminated  and  banished  out  of  the  church 
and  kingdom.  .  .  .  They  preach,  and  print,  and  practice 
their  heretical  impieties  openly ;  they  hold  their  con- 
venticles weekly  in  our  chief  cities  and  suburbs  thereof, 
and  there  prophesy  by  turns.  .  .  .  They  flock  in  great 
multitudes  to  their  Jordans,  and  both  sexes  enter  into  the 
river,  and  are  dipt  after  their  manner  with  a  kind  of  spell, 
containing  the  heads  of  their  erroneous  tenets.  .  .  .  And 
as  they  defile  our  rivers  with  their  impure  washings,  and 
our  pulpits  with  their  false  prophecies  and  fanatical  en- 
thusiasms, so  the  presses  sweat  and  groan  under  the  load 
of  their  blasphemies."  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  these 
are  the  words  of  a  defeated  champion,  venting  his  spite 
against  his  opponents. 

Dr.  Featley  was  a  man  of  influence,  and  it  was  there- 
fore judged  expedient  to  furnish  an  antidote  to  his  book. 
This  was  done  by  the  publication  of  a  Confession  of 
Faith,  on  the  part  of  seven  London  churches.  It  ap- 
peared in  the  year  1644,  under  the  following  title  :  "  The 
Confession  of  Faith  of  those  churches  which  are  com- 
monly (though  falsely)  called  Anabaptists ;  presented  to 
the  view  of  all  that  fear  God,  to  examine  by  the  touch- 
stone of  the  word  of  truth  :  as  likewise  for  the  taking 
off"  those  aspersions  which  are  frequently  both  in  pulpit 
<ind  print  (although  unjustly)  cast  upon  them."  It  was 
a  fair  digest  of  Baptist  principles,  showing  that  in  all 
important  points  of  theology,  Christian  ordinances  and 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  307 

church  government  excepted,  the  Baptists  agreed  with 
other  evangelical  Protestants,  The  compilers  were  par- 
ticularly careful  to  state  in  full  the  views  on  magistracy 
held  by  the  churches,  in  order  to  disabuse  men  of  the 
absurd  notions  still  cherished  by  many,  who  were  fain  to 
charge  ihe  Baptists  with  revolutionary  tendencies,  similar 
to  those  of  Munster.  The  concluding  paragraph  is  ad- 
mirably written.  It  is  as  follows:  "  Thus  we  desire  to 
give  unto  Christ  that  which  is  his,  and  unto  all  lawful 
authority  that  which  is  their  due  ;  and  to  owe  nothing  to 
any  man  but  love  ;  to  live  quietly  and  peaceably,  as  it 
becometh  saints,  endeavoring  in  all  things  to  keep  a  good 
conscience,  and  to  do  unto  every  man  (of  what  judgment 
soever)  as  we  would  they  should  do  unto  us ;  that  as  our 
practice  is,  so  it  may  prove  us  to  be  a  conscionable,  quiet, 
and  harmless  people  (no  ways  dangerous  or  troublesome 
to  human  society),  and  to  labor  and  work  with  our  hands 
that  we  may  not  be  chargeable  to  any,  but  to  give  to  him 
that  needeth,  both  friends  and  enemies,  accounting  it 
more  excellent  to  give  than  to  receive.  Also  we  confess 
that  we  know  but  in  pai't,  and  that  we  are  ignorant  of 
many  things  which  we  desire  and  seek  to  know  ;  and  if 
any  shall  do  us  that  friendly  part  to  show  us  from  the 
word  of  God  that  we  see  not,  we  shall  have  cause  to  be 
thankful  to  God  and  them.  But  if  any  man  shall  impose 
upon  us  anything  that  we  see  not  to  be  commanded  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  should  in  his  strength  rather 
embracs  all  reproaches  and  tortures  of  men,  to  be  stripped 
of  all  outward  comforts,  and,  if  it  were  possible,  to  die  a 
thousand  deaths,  rather  than  to  do  anything  against  the 
least  tittle  of  the  truth  of  God,  or  against  the  light  of  our 
own  consciences.     And  if  any  shall  call  what  we  have 


3o8  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

said  heresy,  then  do  we  with  the  apostle  acknowledge, 
that  '  after  the  way  they  call  heresy,  worship  we  the  God 
of  our  fathers,'  disclaiming  all  heresies  (rightly  so  called), 
because  they  are  against  Christ,  and  to  be  steadfast  and 
immovable,  always  abounding  in  obedience  to  Christ, 
as  knewing  our  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the 
Lord."  ^ 

The  seven  churches  by  which  this  Confession  was  pub- 
lished met  in  the  following  places,  viz. :  Devonshire 
Square ;  Broad  Street,  Wapping ;  Great  St.  Helens ; 
Crutched  Friars  ;  Bishopsgate  Street ;  Coleman  Street ; 
and  Glaziers'  Hall.  The  first-mentioned  church  has  ex- 
isted from  that  time  to  the  present.  The  others  have  been 
long  extinct. 

I  have  said  that  Presbyterianism  was  in  the  ascendant. 
But  the  Presbyterians  of  the  seventeenth  century  held 
toleration  in  abhorrence.  It  was  in  their  eyes  the  quint- 
essence of  all  heiesy. 

The  great  Richard  Baxter  says :  "  My  judgment  in 
that  much-disputed  point  of  liberty  of  religion,  I  have 
always  freely  made  known.  I  abhor  unlimited  liberty 
and  toleration  of  all,  and  think  myself  easily  able  to 
prove  the  wickedness  of  it."  ^ 

The  President  of  the  Scotch  Parliament  writes  thus  to 
the  Parliament  of  England  (Feb.  3,  1645)  :  "  It  was  ex- 
pected the  honorable  houses  would  add  their  civil  sanc- 
tion to  what  the  pious  and  learned  Assembly  have  ad- 
vised ;  and  I  .im  commanded  by  the  Parliament  of  this 
kingdom  to  demand  it,  and  I  do  in  their  names  demand 
It.  And  the  Parliament  of  this  kingdom  is  persuaded 
that  the  piety  and  wisdom  of  the  honorable  houses  will 
1  Confessions  of  Faith,  pp.  13-48.  "^  Ivimey,  i.  169. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  309 

never  admit  toleration  of  any  sects  or  schisms  contrary 
to  our  Solemn  League  and  Covenant." ' 

The  London  Presbyterian  clergy  bear  their  testimony 
against  "  the  error  of  toleration,  patronizing  and  pr^^inot* 
ing  all  other  errors,  heresies,  and  blasphemies  whatso- 
ever, under  the  grossly-abused  notion  of  liberty  of  con- 
science ;"  and  that  they  consider  it  a  great  grievance, 
<'  that  men  should  have  liberty  to  worship  God  in  that 
way  and  manner  as  shall  appear  to  them  most  agreeable 
to  the  word  of  God,  and  no  man  be  punished  or  dis- 
countenanced by  authority  for  the  same.  We,  the  min- 
isters of  Jesus  Christ,"  say  they,  "  do  hereby  testify  to  our 
flocks,  to  all  the  kingdom,  and  to  the  Reformed  world,  our 
great  dislike  of  Prelacy,  Erastianism,  Brownism,  and 
Lidependency ;  and  our  utter  abhorrency  of  Anti-Scrip- 
turism.  Popery,  Arianism,  Socinianism,  Arminianism, 
Antinomianism,  Anabaptism,  Libertinism,  andFamilism  ; 
and  that  v/e  detest  the  forementioned  toleration,  so  much 
pursued  and  endeavored  in  this  kingdom,  accounting  it 
unlawful  and  pernicious."  * 

The  Lancashire  ministers  declare  their  "  harmonious 
consent "  with  their  brethren  in  London  as  follows  :  "  A 
toleration  would  be  putting  a  sword  into  a  madman's 
hands ;  a  cup  of  poison  into  the  hand  of  a  child  ;  a  let- 
ting loose  madmen  with  firebrands  in  their  hands,  and 
appointing  a  city  of  refuge  in  men's  consciences  for  the 
devil  tc  fly  to ;  a  laying  a  stumbling-block  before  the 
blind  ,  a  proclaiming  liberty  to  the  wolves  to  come  into 
Christ's  fold  to  prey  upon  the  lambs :  neither  would  it  be 
to  provide  for  tender  consciences,  but  to  take  away  all 
conscience."  * 

•  Neal,  iii.  310.  2  jud,  300.  ^  Crosby,  i.  19a 


3IO  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

These  sentiments  were  reduced  to  practice  as  far  as 
possible.  In  1645  an  ordinance  of  Parliament  was  pub- 
lished, enacting  "  that  no  person  be  permitted  to  preach, 
who  is  not  ordained  a  minister,  either  in  this  or  in  some 
other  Reformed  chuixh,  except  such  as,  intending  the  min- 
istry, shall  be  allowed  for  the  trial  of  their  gifts,  by  those 
who  shall  be  appointed  thereunto  by  both  houses  of  Par- 
liament." The  ordinance  was  to  be  sent  to  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax,  with  the  "  earnest  desire  and  recommendation  " 
of  the  houses,  that  it  should  be  "  duly  observed  in  the 
army." '  The  Baptists  were  particularly  aimed  at,  be- 
cause there  were  great  numbers  of  preachers  among 
them,  and  they  were  of  course  destitute  of  ordination,  in 
the  Presbyterian  sense  of  the  word.  Next  year  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  city  of  London  interfered  in  the  matter, 
by  presenting  a  memorial  to  Parliament,  called  "  The 
City  Remonstrance,"  in  which  they  prayed  "  that  some 
strict  and  speedy  course  might  be  taken  for  the  suppress- 
ing all  separate  and  private  congregations  ;  that  all  Ana- 
baptists, Brownists,  heretics,  schismatics,  blasphemers, 
and  all  other  sectaries,  who  conform  not  to  the  public 
discipline  established,  or  to  be  established  by  Parliament, 
may  be  fully  declared  against,  and  some  effectual  course 
settled  for  proceeding  against  such  persons ;  and  that  no 
person  disaffected  to  the  Presbyterial  government,  set 
forth  or  to  be  set  forth  by  Parliament,  may  be  employed 
in  any  place  of  public  trust."  ''■  But  the  Baptists  and 
others  in  the  army  procured  a  counter-petition,  which  was 
very  numerously  signed,  "  applauding  the  labors  and 
successes  of  the  Parliament  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
praying  them  to  go  on  with  managing  the  affairs  of  the 
>  Crosby,  i.  192,  2  Ibid.  p.  184. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  31I 

kingdom  according  to  their  wisdom,  and  not  to  suffer  the 
free-born  people  of  England  to  be  enslaved  on  any  pre- 
tence whatever,  nor  to  suffer  any  set  of  people  to  pre- 
scribe to  them  in  matters  of  government  or  conscience." ' 
Nevertheless,  the  intolerant  principle  prevailed,  and  in 
December,  1646,  a  second  parliamentary  ordinance  ap- 
peared, forbidding  all  unordained  persons  to  "  preach  or 
expound  the  Scriptures  in  any  church  or  chapel,  or  any 
other  public  place,"  and  directing  that  all  ministers,  or 
others,  who  should  "  publish  or  maintain,  by  preaching, 
writing,  printing,  or  any  other  way,  anything  against  or 
in  derogation  of  the  church  government  which  is  now 
established  by  authority  of  both  houses  of  Parliament," 
should  be  apprehended,  and  "due  punishment"  inflicted 
on  them.*  Many  Baptists  suffered  under  this  ordinance, 
by  imprisonment  and  otherwise.  Had  it  been  rigidly 
executed,  there  would  have  been  extensive  disturbances 
of  the  public  peace,  for  the  intolerance  of  the  Presby- 
terian party  excited  general  disgust  and  loathing.  Mil- 
ton's thoughts  and  feelings  on  the  subject  were  expressed 
with  more  force  than  elegance.  There  is  stinging  truth  in 
his  lines  entitled,  "  On  the  new  Forcers  of  Conscience 
under  the  Long  Parliament :" 

"  Because  you  have  thrown  off  your  Prelate  lord, 
And  with  stiff  vows  renounced  his  Liturgy, 
To  seize  the  widowed  whore  Plurality 
From  them  whose  sin  you  envied,  not  abhorred  ; 

Dare  ye  for  this  adjure  the  civil  sword 

To  force  our  consciences  that  Christ  set  free, 
And  ride  us  with  a  classic  hierarchy 
Taught  ye  by  mere  A.  S   and  Rotherford  ? 

Neal,  iii.  328.  *  Crosby,  i.  194. 


312  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

Men  whose  life,  learning,  faith,  and  pure  intent 

Would  have  been  held  in  high  esteem  with  Paul, 
Must  now  be  named  and  printed  Heretics 

By  shallow  Edwards  and  Scotch  what  d'ye  call : 
But  we  do  hope  to  find  out  all  your  tricks, 
Your  plots  and  packing  worse  than  those  of  Trent, 
That  so  the  Parliament 

May  with  their  wholesome  and  preventive  shears 

Clip  your  phylacteries,  though  bank  your  ears. 
And  succor  our  just  fears, 

When  they  shall  read  this  clearly  in  your  charge, 

New  Presbyter  is  but  old  Priest  writ  large,"  ^ 

These  Presbyterian  outrages  were  also  exposed  by 
Samuel  Richardson,  one  of  the  pastors  of  the  Calvinistic 
or  Particular  Baptist  Church,  the  formation  of  which  has 
been  mentioned.  Mr.  Richardson's  pamphlet  was  en- 
titled, "  The  necessity  of  Toleration  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion ;  or,  certain  questions  propounded  to  the  synod, 
tending  to  prove  that  corporal  punishments  ought  not  to 
be  inflicted  upon  such  as  hold  errors  in  religion,  and  that 
in  matters  of  religion  men  ought  not  to  be  compelled, 
but  have  liberty  and  freedom."  The  "  questions"  are 
such  as  no  persecutor,  Roman  Catholic  or  Protestant, 
Episcopalian  or  Presbyterian,  could  satisfactorily  answer  ; 
and  the  observations  interspersed  are  so  pithy  and  pun- 
gent, that  the  good  cause  must  have  derived  great  benefit 
from  the  publication.  "  Sit  still  quietly,"  the  author  says, 
"  and  be  humbled,  for  your  folly  in  calling  persecution 
discipline  and  just-deserved  censure  ;  and  in  calling  your 
priesthood  and  presbytery  a  holy  order,  and  yet  are  but 

'  Todd's  Milton,  vi.  92-97.  "  Bauk,"  for  "  balk,"  means  to  "  spare," 
to  "  leave  untouched."  "  The  mild  and  gentle  Parliament  will  content 
itself  with  only  clipping  away  your  Jewish  and  persecuting  principles." 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  313 

the  pope's  priesthood.  And  we  had  as  good  be  under  the 
pope  as  under  your  Presbyterian  check.  .  .  .  You  would 
all  be  tolerated,  and  would  have  none  tolerated  but  your- 
selves ;  you  would  suffer  none  to  live  quietly  and  com- 
fortably but  those  of  your  way.  Is  this  to  do  as  you 
would  be  done  bj'  V  ^ 

The  Assembly  of  Divines  sat  from  1643  till  1649. 
Their  Confession  of  Faith  and  Catechisms  will  live  as 
long  as  theological  literature  lasts.  With  the  exception 
of  those  portions  in  which  religious  liberty,  church 
government,  and  Christian  baptism  are  treated,  they  are 
invaluable.  The  assembly  not  only  sustained  infant 
baptism,  but  also  enjoined  sprinkling  as  the  mode  of  ad- 
ministering the  ceremony.  It  was  a  close  division — 
twenty-five  were  for  the  injunction  of  sprinkling,  twenty- 
four  against  it.  That  majority  of  one  was  obtained  by 
Dr.  Lightfoot's  influence,  to  whose  authority  as  an  Ori- 
ental scholar  and  biblical  critic  great  deference  was  paid. 
The  minority  were  not  willing  to  legislate  on  the  subject, 
and  would  have  left  it  to  the  option  of  ministers.  But  it 
seems  that  there  was  a  dread  of  possible  consequences ; 
for  if  any  infants  should  be  immersed,  a  suspicion  might 
get  abroad  that  sprinkling  was  msufficient.  This  might 
lead  to  the  conclusion  that  those  who  had  been  only 
sprinkled  ought  to  be  baptized.  The  inquiry  might  then 
be  extended  to  adults,  and  so  the  interests  of  the  Baptists 
might  be  furthered.  It  was  judged  prudent  to  prevent  all 
this  by  positive  enactment. 

There  was  a  wonderful  outcry  against  immersion. 
Even  Baxter  allowed  himself  to  use  expressions  which 
might  be  laughed  at,  were  it  not  for  the  melancholy  fact 

'  Tracts,  p.  284. 
27 


314  -  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

that  in  his  case — for  lie  could  not  be  ignorant  on  the  sub* 
ject — prejudice  and  passion  prevailed  over  Christian 
charity,  and  impelled  him  to  adopt  a  course  vv^hich  in  his 
sober  moments  he  must  have  condemned.  Take  a  speci- 
men or  two  :  "  That  v^^hich  is  a  plain  breach  of  the  sixth 
commandment,  Thou  shall  not  kill^  is  no  ordinance  of 
God,  but  a  most  heinous  sin.  But  the  ordinary  practice 
of  baptizing  over  head,  and  in  cold  water,  as  necessary, 
is  a  plain  breach  of  the  sixth  commandment ;  therefore 
it  is  no  ordinance  of  God,  but  a  heinous  sin,  and,  as  Mr. 
Craddock  shows  in  his  book  of  gospel  liberty,  the 
magistrate  ought  to  restrain  it,  to  save  the  lives  of  his 
subjects."  .  .  .  "  In  a  word,  it  is  good  for  nothing  but  to 
despatch  men  out  of  the  world  that  are  burdensome,  and 
to  ranken  churchyards.  I  conclude,  if  murder  be  a  sin, 
then  dipping  ordinarily  over  head  in  England  is  a  sin  ; 
and  if  those  who  make  it  men's  religion  to  murder  them- 
selves, and  urge  it  upon  their  consciences  as  their  duty, 
are  not  to  be  suffered  in  a  commonwealth,  any  more  than 
highway  murderers ;  then  judge  how  these  Anabaptists, 
that  teach  the  necessity  of  such  dipping,  are  to  be  suf- 
fered." Poor  Baxter !  Had  he  never  read  the  ninth 
commandment .''  * 

Samuel  Gates'  case  is  another  illustration  of  the  intense 
hatred  against  everything  Baptist  which  was  at  that  time 
indulged  in.  This  excellent  minister,  who  was  for  some 
lime  pastor  of  one  of  the  London  churches,  was  much 
blessed  in  his  labors.  While  engaged  in  a  home  mission- 
ary tour  in  the  county  of  Essex,  in  the  year  1646,  his 
preaching  was  attended  with  such  success  that  hundreds 
were  converted  and  baptized.  One  of  the  converts  hav 
'  Ivitnej,  i.  193. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  315 

ing  died  a  few  weeks  after,  Mr.  Oates  was  actually  com- 
mitted to  prison,  put  in  irons,  and  indicted  for  murder  I 
It  would  seem  hardly  credible  that  this  charge  could  be 
seriously  entertained  ;  but  malice  and  bigotry  stick  at 
nothing.  Mr,  Oates'  persecutors  were  disappointed,  as 
it  clearly  appeared  on  the  trial  that  the  young  woman 
baptized  was  in  good  health  for  some  time  after  her  bap- 
tism. The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  "  not  guilty,"  but 
the  attempt  to  destroy  a  Christian  minister  by  such  means 
was  an  ugly  symptom.' 

Verily  the  times  were  odd  and  strange  !  The  same 
Parliament  which  denounced  preachers  who  had  not 
been  regularly  ordained,  and  ordered  the  magistrates  to 
seize  them,  issued,  in  the  following  year,  a  declaration 
in  favor  of  the  Baptists !  How  it  came  to  pass  I  know 
not.  Perhaps  some  thought  that  they  had  gone  too  far, 
and  honestly  desired  to  retrace  their  steps ;  or  possibly 
the  growing  numbers  and  influence  of  the  denomination 
inspired  a  salutary  fear,  especially  as  it  was  known  that 
there  were  many  Baptists  in  the  army.  These  words 
were  found  in  the  "  Declaration,"  issued  March  4,  1647  : 
"  The  name  of  Anabaptism  hath  indeed  contracted  much 
odium,  by  reason  of  the  extravagant  opinions  and  prac- 
tices we  abhor  and  detest.  But  for  their  opinion  against 
the  baptism  of  infants,  it  is  only  a  difference  about  a  cir- 
cumstance of  time  in  the  administration  of  an  ordinance, 
wherein  in  former  ages,  as  well  as  this,  leai-ned  men  have 
differed  both  in  opinion  and  practice.  And  though  we 
could  wish  that  all  men  would  satisfy  themselves,  and 
join  with  us  in  our  judgment  and  practice  on  this  point, 
yet  herein  we  hold  it  fit  that  men  should  be  convinced  by 
^  Crosby,  i.  236. 


3i6  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

the  word  of  God,  with  great  gentleness  and  reason,  and 
not  beaten  out  of  it  with  force  and  violence."^ 

It  was  but  a  momentary  gleam  of  light.     As  if  texTified 
at  what  they  had  said — 

"  They  back  recoiled, 
E'en  at  the  sound  themselves  had  nrade," 

and  in  May,  1648,  passed  a  law  more  fearfully  barbarous 
than  any  which  had  for  a  long  time  found  a  place  in  the 
statute-book.  I  refer  to  the  "  Ordinance  of  the  Lords 
and  Commons  assembled  in  Parliament,  for  punishing 
blasphemies  and  heresies."  By  this  law  it  was  enacted 
that  all  persons  found  guilty  of  Atheism,  Deism,  or  Socin- 
ianism,  and  refusing  to  abjure,  should  suffer  death,  as  in 
case  of  felony.  If  they  abjured,  they  were  to  remain  in 
prison  till  they  found  sureties  that  they  would  not  main- 
tain their  eiTors  any  more  ;  then,  if  they  afterward  re- 
canted, and  were  convicted  a  second  time,  they  were  to 
be  executed.  It  was  also  enacted  that  all  persons  con- 
victed before  two  justices  of  the  peace  of  maintaining 
and  defending  certain  specified  opinions  held  by  Papists, 
Arminians,  Antinomians,  Quakers,  or  Baptists,  should 
be  ordered  to  renounce  their  errors  in  the  parish  church, 
and  in  case  of  refusal,  to  be  committed  to  jail  till  they 
should  find  sureties  that  they  would  not  maintain  or 
defend  such  opinions  any  more.  This  was  equivalent  to 
a  sentence  of  imprisonment  for  life.  The  Baptist  senti- 
ment condemned  was  thus  expressed :  "  That  the  bap- 
tizing of  infants  is  unlawful,  or  such  baptism  is  void,  and 
that  such  persons  ought  to  be  baptized  again ;"  it  is 
added,  "  and  in  pursuance  thereof  shall  baptize  any  per- 
*  Crosby,  i.  196. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  317 

son  formerly  baptized."  Even  the  Episcopalians  were 
included  in  the  condemnation,  for  the  same  penalties 
were  provided  for  those  who  should  maintain  "  that  the 
church  government  by  presbytery  is  antichristian  or  un- 
lawful." ' 

It  is  no  apology  for  this  vile  law  that  it  was  practically 
a  dead  letter,  and  was  intended  to  terrify  or  prevent 
rather  than  to  punish.  The  good  sense  and  Christianity 
of  the  people  would  not  suffer  it  to  be  executed  ;  but  the 
Presbyterians,  whose  handiwork  it  was,  were  fully  pre- 
pared for  the  experiment,  if  power  had  been  entrusted  to 
them.     Here  again  we  see  '•'•  old  priest  writ  large. ^^ 

During  the  Commonwealth  the  Baptists  evinced  much 
zealous  activity  in  the  cause  of  the  Saviour.  The  minis- 
ters were  indefatigable,  the  people  fei-vent  and  steadfast. 
If  now  and  then  the  fervor  evaporated  into  fanaticism, 
or  something  like  it,  and  if  diversity  of  opinion  on  com- 
paratively minor  points  caused  a  multiplication  of  small 
parties,  an  excuse  may  be  found  in  the  peculiar  state  of 
the  times.  And  surely  it  was  better  that  the  waters 
should  be  in  motion,  or  even  troubled,  than  stagnant  and 
corrupted.  We  are  not  required  to  defend  all  the  meas- 
ures adopted  by  our  forefathers,  any  more  than  to  employ 
their  quaint  modes  of  speech.  But  it  would  be  well  for 
us  to  imitate  their  diligence,  their  prayerfulness,  their 
strict  regard  to  the  authority  of  the  Saviour,  their  endea- 
vors for  mutual  edification.  They  labored  "  in  season, 
out  of  season,"  Those  of  them  who  were  in  Cromwell's 
army  took  care  not  to  blink  their  principles  there.  Prayer 
and  preaching  were  duly  attended  to,  by  officers  as  well 
as  by  privates.  A  serious,  orderly  deportment  prevailed. 
*  Crosby,  i.  199-201?. 
27* 


3i8  BAPTIST  HISTORT 

In  camp  and  in  garrison  they  observed  good  discipline ; 
in  the  field  their  prowess  was  unquestioned.  They  were 
the  Havelocks  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Under  the  Protectorate  the  Baptists  were  not  only  un- 
molested, but  prosperous.  Some  of  them  disapproved  of 
the  new  government,  preferring  the  commonwealth  ;  and 
some  joined  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  who  held  visionary 
notions  respecting  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Hence  the 
Protector  was  thought  to  look  coolly  on  them,  and  to  wish 
to  lessen  their  influence,  particularly  in  the  army.  But 
the  main  body  were  satisfied  with  the  existing  order  of 
things,  and  diligently  improved  their  opportunities. 

Crosby  has  republished  a  letter  from  some  Baptists  in 
the  army  to  the  Protector,  in  which  they  accuse  him  of 
designing  to  get  rid  of  them,  or,  as  they  expressed  it,  "  to 
purge  the  army  of  the  Anabaptists."  They  were  not  very 
careful  in  the  choice  of  words.  These  are  some  of  the 
"  queries"  they  put  to  "  his  highness :"  "  Whether  your 
highness  had  come  to  the  height  of  honor  and  greatness 
you  are  now  come  to,  if  the  Anabaptists,  so  called,  had 
been  so  much  your  enemies  as  they  were  your  friends.?" 
"Whether  the  Anabaptists  were  ever  unfaithful,  either  to 
the  Commonwealth  in  general,  or  to  your  highness  in 
particular  }  And  if  not,  then  what  is  the  reason  of  your 
intended  dismission?"  "Whether  the  Anabaptists  may 
not  as  justly  endeavor  to  eat  out  the  bowels  of  your 
government,  as  your  highness  may  endeavor  to  eat 
them  out  of  their  employments?"  "Whether  the  Ana- 
baptists did  not  come  more  justly  into  their  employments 
m  the  army  than  your  highness  into  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment.?" "Whether  the  Anabaptist  will  not  be  in  a  better 
condition  in  the  day  of  Christ,  that  keeps  his  covenant 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD,  319 

with  God  and  man,  than  your  highness  will  be  if  you 
break  with  both?"  "Whether  an  hundred  of  the  old 
Anabaptists^  such  as  marched  under  your  command  in 
'48,  '49,  '50,  etc.,  be  not  as  good  as  two  hundred  of  your 
new  courtiers,  if  you  were  in  such  a  condition  as  you 
were  at  Dunbar  in  Scotland?"  "Whether  your  high- 
ness' conscience  was  not  more  at  peace,  and  your  mind 
more  set  upon  things  above,  when  you  loved  the  Anabap- 
tists, than  it  is  now,  when  you  hate  their  principles,  or 
their  service,  or  both  ?"  "Whether  your  highness'  court 
is  not  a  greater  charge  to  this  nation  than  the  Anabaptists 
in  the  army  ?  And  if  so,  whether  this  be  the  ease  which 
you  promised  the  people  ?" ' 

This  is  plain  dealing.  But  Cromwell  accomplished 
his  purpose,  as  regarded  his  own  regiment,  the  principal 
officers  in  which  were  dismissed,  avowedly  because  they 
were  Baptists.  The  probability  is  that  they  were  strong 
republicans,  and  were  afraid  of  the  old  tyranny. 

The  discontents  of  the  Irish  Baptists,  some  of  whom 
objected  to  the  Protectorate,  regarding  the  title  of  "  Lord 
Protector"  as  "  applicable  to  God  alone,"  were  allayed 
by  a  judicious  letter  addressed  to  them  by  Messrs.  Kiffin 
and  Spilsbury.  It  is  inserted  in  the  volume  of  "  Con- 
fessions of  Faith,"  published  by  the  Hanserd  Knollys 
Society.* 

Three  Baptist  ministers — John  Tombes,  Henry  Jessey, 
and  Daniel  Dyke — were  appointed  "  Triers,"  that  is,  they 
W'ere  members  of  a  committee  so  called,  constituted  by 
the  government  for  the  examination  of  candidates  for 
church  livings,  and  the  removal  of  "  ignorant  and  scan- 
dalous" clergymen.  The  ministers  above  mentioned,  and 
1  Crosby,  iii,  231-242.  2  Pp.  322-326. 


520  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

several  more,  accepted  the  charge  of  parishes.  I  do  not 
vindicate  their  consistency  in  consenting  to  receive  tithes 
and  other  payments,  by  which  parish  ministers  are  sup- 
ported in  the  Church  of  England ;  but  the  impartial 
reader  will  give  due  weight  to  the  considerations  which 
have  been  alleged  in  their  defence,  viz. :  that  the  scarcity 
of  qual  fied  ministers  w^arranted  them  in  taking  this  step, 
as  they  were  thereby  put  in  a  position  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  thousands  who  would  have  been  otherwise  destitute 
of  the  means  of  grace  ;  that  they  were  bound  to  no  forms 
and  ceremonies,  and  allowed  to  conduct  worship  in  what- 
ever manner  they  pleased  ;  and  that  some  of  them  retained 
their  own  churches,  and  continued  to  minister  to  them, 
occupying  the  parish  pulpits  on  only  one  part  of  the 
Lord's  Day. 

Statistics  were  not  much  thought  of  in  those  days.  I 
am  unable  to  furnish  an  exact  account  of  the  number  of 
Baptist  churches  in  England  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration. 
It  may  suffice  to  remark  that  there  were  churches  of  our 
denomination  in  about  thirty  English  counties,  and  that 
they  were  numerous  in  Wales.  The  principal  churches 
in  Ireland  were  at  Dublin,  Waterford,  Kilkenny,  Clonmel, 
Cork,  and  Limerick. 

I  wil'  here  introduce  some  passages  of  a  letter  written 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Patient,  w4io  was  then  preaching  at  Kil- 
kenny, and  addressed  to  "  the  Lord  General  Crom- 
well." It  is  strikingly  characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  the 
times : 

'^It  is  a  great  honor  to  be  made  use  of  in  the  hand  of 
God,  to  do  him  special  service  for  church  and  common- 
wealtli,  to  have  a  spirit  like  unto  Christ,  which  is  a  public 
Bpirit.     He  came  not  to  be  served,  but  to  sen'e,  and  to 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  32 1 

lay  down  his  life  a  ransom  for  many.  Oh,  therefore,  my 
beloved  in  the  Lord,  still  let  this  be  the  joy  of  your  heart, 
in  all  your  difficulties  and  great  undertakings,  that  you 
are  in  such  a  work  and  service,  which  I  know  God  hath 
made  you  sensible  of,  hath  tended  much  to  the  preserva- 
tion and  peace  of  his  church,  and  free  passage  of  the 
gospel,  and  I  hope  at  last  will  appear  to  be  for  the  public 
good  of  the  commonwealth. 

"  My  constant  prayers  are  at  the  throne  of  grace  for 
you,  that  you  may  be  kept  upright  with  God,  and  in 
nothing  left  to  sin  and  dishonor  God,  his  name  being  so 
much  concerned  in  it.  Therefore,  as  God  hath  formerly 
given  you  the  experience  of  the  benefit  of  a  humble  walk- 
ing with  God,  I  beseech  you,  in  the  bowels  of  Christ,  still 
keep  a  close  watch  over  your  own  heart,  and  labor  to 
walk  under  the  sense  of  that  body  of  death  and  your  daily 
infirmities,  and  to  see  a  need  of  godly  repentance  daily, 
and  humiliation,  and  fresh  strength  from  Christ  by  faith, 
by  which  you  may  be  kept  and  preserved  in  a  fresh,  sweet, 
and  comfortable  communion  with  God  ;  for  his  presence 
will  be  all  your  happiness. 

"  Be  sure  to  prize  God's  holy  word,  and  all  the  rest  of 
God's  holy  ordinances,  and  in  so  much  as  may  be,  neglect 
not  to  practice  them,  that  you  by  your  constant  godly  ex- 
ample may  provoke  others  to  holiness  and  the  fear  of  the 

Lord."^ 

1  Confessions  of  Faith,  etc.,  pp.  311-315. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Character  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. — Commencement  of  Persecution 
— Veimer's  Rebellion — Disclaimer  by  Baptists — Severe  Sufferings — 
John  James — Act  of  Uniformity — The  Aylesbury  Baptists — Benja- 
min Keach  Pilloried — Conventicle  Act — Five-Mile  Act — Their  Ef- 
fects. 

WE  are  now  entering  upon  a  dark  time.  The  reigns 
of  Charles  II.  and  James  II.  were  inglorious  in 
all  respects.  Those  kings  were  despicable  as  men,  des- 
potic as  rulers.  In  religion,  the  first  was  a  hypocrite,  the 
second  a  bigot.  The  former  was  traitorous  to  British  in- 
terests for  the  sake  of  his  pleasures  and  his  pride ;  the 
latter  was  willing  to  offer  up  British  freedom  on  the  altar 
of  the  Papacy.  Martyrdom,  in  various  forms,  gained 
fresh  laurels  while  they  occupied  the  throne  of  which  they 
were  utterly  unworthy. 

Charles  II.  had  pledged  his  royal  word  at  Breda,  before 
his  restoration,  "  that  no  man  should  be  disquieted  or 
called  in  question  for  differences  of  opinion  in  matters  of 
religion,  which  did  not  disturb  the  peace  of  the  kingdom." 
Like  a  true  son  of  his  father,  he  broke  his  promise.  It 
was  doubtless'  given  with  a  mental  reservation  which  a 
Jesuit  would  applaud. 

The  Savoy  Conference,  like  the  Hampton  Court  Con- 
322 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  323 

ference  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  was  a  mere  sham.  The 
design  was,  first  to  cheat  and  then  to  insult.  The  Epis- 
copalians and  Presbyterians  who  attended  the  conference 
held  several  meetings,  and  partially  discussed  the  points 
at  issue,  "but  without  any  good  result.  No  Baptists  were 
there.  The  conference  was  opened  April  15,  1661,  and 
closed  July  35. 

The  religious  condition  of  the  kingdom  was  very  pecu- 
liar. "  Ignorant  and  scandalous "  ministers  had  been 
ejected  by  wholesale  during  the  Commonwealth  and  un- 
der the  Protectorate.  Their  successors  wei-e  a  motley 
group.  The  majority  were  Episcopalians,  but  there  were 
many  Presbyterians,  some  Independents,  and  a  few  Bap- 
tists. A  large  number  of  the  Presbyterians  would  have 
submitted  to  the  restored  establishment,  if  they  had  been 
allowed  to  retain  discretionar}'  power  with  reference  to 
portions  of  the  ritual.  They  particularly  objected  to 
wearing  the  surplice  ;  to  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  baptism  ; 
to  kneeling  at  the  Lord's  supper ;  to  the  indiscriminate 
administration  of  the  Lord's  supper  to  sick  persons ;  to 
the  form  of  absolution  ;  to  the  language  of  the  burial 
service  ;  and  to  the  declaration  required  of  all  clergymen 
that  there  was  nothing  in  the  Common  Prayer  Book,  the 
Book  of  Ordination,  or  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  contrary 
to  the  word  of  God.  But  the  temper  of  the  times  was 
rigid  and  fierce.  The  hierarchical  party,  flushed  with 
victory  and  confident  of  complete  success,  refused  all 
consideration.  They  would  not  abate  a  jot,  except  in 
matters  of  the  most  trivial  importance.  A  few  verbal 
alterations  were  made  in  the  Liturgy ;  a  new  edition  of 
the  Prayer  Book  was  published,  containing  foi'ms  of 
prayer  for  the  30th  of  January  and  the  29th  of  May,  with 


324  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

other  additions,  and  the  Parliament,  subservient  to  the 
wishes  of  the  king  and  the  priesthood,  passed  the  "  Act 
of  Uniformity,"  which  went  into  operation  August  24, 
1662. 

We  are  now  prepared  for  a  tale  of  woe.  The  history 
of  our  denomination  from  1660  to  16S8  is  not  so  much  a 
history  of  progress  as  of  endurance.  Persecution  com- 
menced immediately  after  the  king's  i-eturn.  The  clergy- 
men ejected  during  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Protector- 
ate, with  the  exception  of  such  as  had  "justified  the  late 
king's  murder  or  declared  against  infant  baptism,"  were 
restored  to  their  livings  by  act  of  Parliament.  Though 
the  High  Commission  Court  was  not  re-established,  it 
was  presumed  that  the  old  laws  of  Elizabeth  were  in 
force  again,  and  magistrates  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom 
were  eager  to  execute  them. 

The  Baptists  saw  the  storm  coming,  and  took  measures 
accordingly.  They  asked  for  no  indulgence,  no  emolu- 
ments. They  sought  no  office.  All  they  wanted  was 
freedom  of  worship.  They  recognized  but  one  course  of 
action  in  things  civil :  they  were  prepared  to  be  obedient 
subjects.  With  these  views  they  approached  the  throne. 
First,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  king,  July  26,  1660, 
setting  forth  the  sufferings  inflicted  on  the  churches  in 
Lincolnshire.  "We  have  been  much  abused,"  they  say, 
"  as  we  pass  in  the  streets  and  as  we  sit  in  our  houses ; 
being  threatened  to  be  hanged  if  but  heard  praying  to  oi:r 
Lord  in  our  own  families,  and  disturbed  in  our  so  waiting 
upon  him  by  uncivil  beating  at  our  doors  and  sounding 
of  horns ;  yea,  we  have  been  stoned  when  going  to  our 
meetings ;  the  windows  of  the  place  where  we  have  met 
have  been  struck  down  with  stones :  yea,  [we  have  been] 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  325 

taken  as  evil-doers,  and  imprisoned,  when  peaceably  met 
together  to  worship  the  Most  High  in  the  use  of  his  most 
precious  ordinances.  .  .  .  And  as  if  all  this  were  too 
little,  they  have  to  fill  up  their  measure  very  lately  in- 
dicted many  of  us  at  the  sessions,  and  intend,  as  we  are 
informed,  to  impose  on  us  the  penalty  of  twenty  pounds 
[each],  for  not  coming  to  hear  such  men  as  they  provide 
us.'"  Accompanying  this  was  a  Confession  of  Faith, 
drawn  up  by  Thomas  Grantham,  said  to  be  "  owned  and 
approved  by  more  than  twenty  thousand."  Another  pe- 
tition, entitled,  "  The  humble  petition  and  representation 
of  the  surterings  of  several  peaceable  and  innocent  sub- 
jects, called  by  the  name  of  Anabaptists,  inhabitants  in 
the  county  of  Kent,  and  now  prisoners  in  the  jail  of 
Maidstone,  for  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience," 
dated  Jan.  25,  1661,  not  only  represented  the  case  of  the 
prisonei's,  but  of  their  brethren  in  the  county  of  Kent, 
who  were  already  suffering  severely.^  These  petitions 
produced  no  favorable  results.  The  king,  indeed,  replied 
to  the  first,  "  That  it  was  not  his  mind  that  any  of  his 
good  subjects  who  lived  peaceably  should  suffer  any 
trouble  on  account  of  their  opinions  in  point  of  religion," 
and  he  made  fair  promises.  But  the  work  of  violence 
still  went  on.  Some  of  the  principal  Baptist  ministers 
were  lodged  in  prison  during  the  year  1660.  In  Novem- 
ber of  that  year,  John  Bunyan  entered  Bedford  jail,  which 
was  destined  to  be  his  abode  for  twelve  years.  In  every 
part  of  England  power  was  leagued  with  cruelty  and 
lawlessness  for  the  extermination  of  freedom. 

The  ridiculous  affair  called  "  Venner's  Rebellion"  oc- 

'  Ivimey,  i.  276. 

2  Tracts  on  Liberty  of  Conscience,  pp.  297-308. 


326  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

curred  on  the  7th  of  January,  1661.  Thomas  Venner 
preached  in  a  small  meeting-house  in  Coleman  Street, 
London.  He  "  warmed  his  admirers  with  passionate 
expectations  of  a  fifth  universal  monarchy  under  the  per- 
sonal reign  of  King  Jesus  upon  earth,  and  that  the  saints 
were  to  take  the  kingdom  themselves."  On  the  day 
above  mentioned  about  fifty  of  them  marched  out  of  their 
meeting-house,  well  armed,  "  with  a  resolution  to  subvert 
the  present  government  or  die  in  the  attempt."  In  the 
tumult  that  followed,  they  lost  about  half  their  number. 
The  remainder  surrendered  ;  "  Venner  and  one  of  his 
officers  were  hanged  before  their  meeting-house  door, 
Jan.  19,  and  a  few  days  after  nine  more  were  executed 
in  divers  parts  of  the  city."  A  proclamation  was  issued 
the  day  after  the  insurrection  prohibiting  all  meetings  of 
Baptists,  Qiiakers,  and  Fifth  Monarchy  men  for  religious 
worship,  unless  in  the  parish  churches  or  in  private 
houses,  and  then  limited  to  "  the  persons  there  inhabit- 
ing." The  reason  assigned  was,  that  the  parties  above- 
mentioned  had  met  under  religious  pretexts,  but  in  reality 
for  treacherous  purposes ;  and  the  insurrection  gave  a 
plausible  color  to  the  proceeding.  But  the  proclamation, 
though  not  issued  till  after  the  rebellion,  had  been  ordered 
five  days  before  ;  and  the  rebellion  was  eagerly  laid  hold 
of  in  justification  of  the  act,  which  was  manifestly  an 
unauthorized  stretch  of  power.  That,  however,  gave 
little  concern  to  Charles  II.  or  his  unsci'upulous  advisers. 
The  document  was  a  characteristic  specimen  of  Stuart 
knavery  and  audacity.^ 

The  Baptists  hastened  to  disclaim  all  sympathy  with 

'  Documentary  Annals,  ii,  302.     Trcuts,  pp.  313-316.    Neal's  Puntans^ 
iv.  310. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  327 

Venner.  A  "  Humble  Apology  of  some  commonly  called 
Anabaptists,  in  behalf  of  themselves,  and  others  of  the 
same  judgment  with  them,  with  their  protestation  against 
the  late  wicked  and  most  horrid  treasonable  insurrection 
and  rebellion,"  signed  by  thirty  ministers  and  others,  at 
the  head  of  whom  were  William  Kiffin  and  Henry 
Denne,  was  presented  to  the  king  the  day  after  the  out- 
break. But  none  of  their  number  were  compromised, 
and  Venner  himself  had  declared  that  if  he  succeeded 
"  the  Baptists  should  know  that  infant  baptism  was  an 
ordinance  of  Jesus  Christ."  ' 

Two  publications  were  issued  in  1661.  The  objects  of 
both  wei-e  the  same,  namely,  to  establish  the  iniquity  of 
persecution — to  claim  for  the  Baptists  the  rights  of  re- 
ligious freedom — and  to  declare  their  willingness,  as 
loyal  subjects,  to  obey  the  king  and  his  officers  in  all 
things  lawful.  ""*~' 

The  first  was  entitled  "A  Plea  for  Toleration  of  opin- 
ions and  persuasions  in  matters  of  religion,  differing  from 
the  Church  of  England."  It  was  written  by  "John 
Stui-gion,  a  member  of  the  baptized  people."  The 
reasons  against  persecution  are  concisely  given,  and  are 
expressed  in  a  bold,  nervous  style. 

The  second  pamphlet  was  entitled  "  Sion's  groans  for 
her  distressed ;  or,  sober  endeavors  to  prevent  innocent 
blood,"  etc.  The  names  of  seven  Baptist  ministers  are 
appended  to  the  "Epistle  to  the  Reader."  They  were  all 
sufferers  as  well  as  laborers.  One  of  them.  Joseph  Wright, 
spent  no  less  than  twenty  years  in  prison  for  the  truth's 
sake.  The  others  were — Thomas  Monck,  who  labored 
in  Buckinghamshire ;  George  Hammon  and  William 
1  Crosby,  ii.  65.     Confessions  of  Faith,  etc.,  pp.  343-348. 


328  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Jeffrey,  in  Kent ;  Francis  Stanley,  in  Northamptonshire  \ 
William  Reynolds,  in  Lincolnshire  ;  and  Francis  Smith. 

It  is  not  likely  that  the  king  saw  these  or  any  other 
publications  in  which  the  principles  of  the  Baptists  were 
explained  and  advocated.  Nor  is  it  probable,  had  he 
seen  them,  that  they  would  have  induced  him  to  change 
his  policy.  Immediately  after  Venner's  insurrection, 
Hansard  Knollys  and  many  more  were  apprehended  and 
lodged  in  Newgate  and  other  London  prisons.  "  Above 
four  hundred,"  says  Crosby,  "  were  crowded  into  Newgate, 
besides  many  more  in  the  other  prisons  belonging  to  the 
city  and  parts  adjacent."  Vavasor  Powell,  then  preach- 
ing in  Wales,  was  treated  in  the  same  manner,  and 
many  of  his  brethren  in  the  principality  shared  his  fate. 
Throughout  the  kingdom  the  Baptists  were  exposed  to 
outrage.  "  They  have  been  haled  from  their  peaceable 
habitations,"  says  John  Sturgion,  "and  thrust  into  prisons, 
almost  in  all  counties  in  England,  and  many  are  still  de- 
tained, to  the  utter  undoing  of  themselves  and  families, 
and  most  of  them  are  poor  men,  whose  livelihood,  under 
God,  depends  upon  the  labor  of  their  hands.  So  that 
they  lie  under  a  more  than  ordinary  calamity,  there  being 
so  many  thrust  into  little  rooms  together  that  they  are  an 
annoyance  each  to  other,  especially  in  the  city  of  London, 
where  the  lord  mayor  crowds  them  very  close  together, 
that  it  hath  been  observed  the  keepers  have  complained 
they  have  had  too  many  guests.  And  whilst  they  suffer 
there,  some  of  their  wives  and  tender  babies  want  bread 
at  home."^ 

The  execution  of  John  James  was  a  horrible  illustration 
of  royal  malice.  John  James  was  a  Sabbatarian  Baptist 
^  Tracts,  p.  328. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  329 

His  meeting-house  was  in  Bullstrake  Alley,  Whitechapel, 
London.  On  the  19th  of  October,  1661,  he  was  dragged 
from  his  pulpit  and  committed  to  Newgate,  on  the  charge 
of  uttering  treasonable  words  against  the  king.  The 
principal  witness  against  him  was  one  Tipler,  a  journey- 
man pipe-maker,  a  man  whose  character  was  so  well 
known  that  the  magistrate  before  whom  Mr.  James  was 
taken  refused  to  leceive  his  deposition,  unless  some 
other  witness  would  corroborate  it.  Others  were  found 
who  confirmed  Tipler's  testimony ;  but  one  of  them 
afterward  confessed  that  "  he  had  sworn  against  Mr. 
James  he  knew  not  what."  In  fact,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  witnesses  were  suborned,  probably  bribed, 
to  commit  perjury.  There  is  the  more  reason  to  believe 
this,  because  when  the  lieutenant  of  the  Tower  read  the 
information  laid  against  Mr.  James  in  the  presence  of 
his  congregation,  and  asked  them  how  they  could  hear 
such  doctrine,  they  all  replied,  "  that  they  never  heard 
such  words,  as  they  shall  answer  it  before  the  Lord,  and 
they  durst  not  lie."  But  the  death  of  the  victim  was 
predetermined.  It  was  no  difficult  matter  to  procure  a 
verdict  against  him.  He  was  tried  and  convicted  on  the 
19th  of  November,  and  sentenced  the  next  day  to  be 
hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered. 

So  flagrant  was  the  injustice  that  his  wife  was  advised 
by  her  friends  to  present  a  petition  to  the  king  for  his 
life,  setting  forth  the  facts  which  I  have  mentioned,  and 
entreating  his  majesty's  interposition.  But  they  had 
miscalculated.  Charles  treated  the  heart-broken  woman 
with  gross  brutality.  "  With  some  difficulty  she  met  the 
king,  and  presented  him  with  the  paper,  acquainting 
him  who  she  was.  To  whom  he  held  up  his  finger,  and 
28* 


330  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

said,  '  Oh  !  Mr.  James — he  is  a  sweet  gentleman  ;*  but 
following  him  for  some  further  answer,  the  door  was  shut 
against  her.  The  next  morning  she  attended  again,  and 
an  opportunity  soon  presenting,  she  implored  his  ma- 
jesty's answer  to  her  request.  Who  then  replied,  '  That 
he  was  a  rogue,  and  should  be  hanged.'  One  of  the 
lords  attending  him  asked  her  of  whom  she  spake.  The 
kffig  answered,  "  Of  John  James,  that  rogue  ;  he  shall  be 
hanged  ;  yea,  he  shall  be  hanged.'  "  ^ 

On  the  26th  of  November  Mr.  James  was  dragged  on 
a  hurdle,  after  the  manner  of  traitors,  from  Newgate  to 
Tyburn,  the  place  of  execution.  His  behavior  under 
those  awful  circumstances  was  dignified  and  Christian. 
In  his  address  to  the  multitude,  referring  to  his  denomi- 
national sentiments,  he  said,  "  I  do  own  the  title  of  a 
baptized  believer.  I  own  the  ordinances  and  appoint- 
ments of  Jesus  Christ.  I  own  all  the  principles  in 
Hebrews  vi.  i,  2."  He  charged  his  friends  to  continue 
their  religious  assemblies,  at  all  risk.  His  closing  exhor- 
tations were  remarkably  solemn  and  impressive,  remind- 
ing the  people  of  the  days  of  the  old  martyrs.  "  This  is 
a  happy  day,"  said  one  of  his  friends :  "I  bless  the 
Lord,"  he  replied,  "  it  is  so."  When  all  was  ready,  he 
lifted  up  his  hands,  and  exclaimed,  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit."  So  he 
died.  His  quarters  were  placed  over  the  city  gates,  and 
his  head  was  set  upon  a  pole,  opposite  the  meeting- 
house in  which  he  had  preached  the  gospel.^ 

I  have  mentioned  the  Act  of  Uniformity.  It  received 
the  royal  assent  on  the  19th  of  May,  1662,  and  went  into 
operation  on  the  24th  of  A  igust  following.  By  this  act, 
1  Crosby,  ii,  17.  *  Ivimey,  i.  325-327. 


THE    TROVBLOVb   PERIOD.  33 1 

five  things  were  required  of  all  ministers  then  in  posses- 
sion of  livings,  as  essential  to  their  continuance  in  the 
Establishment:  i.  Reordination,  if  they  had  not  been 
episcopally  ordained  before.  2.  A  declaration  of  "  an 
feigned  assent  and  consent  to  all  and  everything  contained 
in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  administration  of 
the  sacramen:s,  and  other  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the 
church" — a  new^  and  corrected  edition  of  which  was  then 
published,  but  which  great  numbers  of  the  clergy  could 
not  possibly  see  before  the  time  specified — affirming  that 
there  was  nothing  in  it  contrary  to  the  word  of  God  ; 
with  a  promise  to  use  the  prescribed  form  and  no  other. 
3.  An  oath  of  canonical  obedience  and  subjection  to  the 
bishop.  4.  Abjuration  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant. 5.  A  declaration  of  the  unlawfulness  of  taking  up 
arms  against  the  king  and  government  upon  any  pretence 
whatsoever. 

The  interval  that  elapsed  between  the  time  when  the 
act  was  passed  and  the  day  on  which  it  was  to  take  ef- 
fect was  a  period  of  anxious  suspense,  both  to  the  people 
and  their  ministers.  It  was  a  trial  of  character.  Some 
came  to  an  immediate  decision,  and  left  their  livings  be- 
fore the  appointed  day ;  others  waited  till  the  time  had 
expired ;  and  when  at  length  the  24th  of  August  came, 
there  were  found  more  than  two  thousand  viorihy.,  learned, 
pious  ministers  ready  to  say,  "  We  ought  to  obey  God 
rather  than  men."  And  they  acted  on  the  principle. 
Regardless  of  consequences,  they  sacrificed  all  to  truth 
and  to  God,  and  cast  themselves  on  Providence  for  supply 
and  defence,  exhibiting  to  the  world  and  to  future  ages 
a  noble  example  of  disinterested  virtue  and  conscientious 
integrity.     The   loss   which    the}-    sustained   was   by  no 


332  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

means  trivial ;  they  were  not  only  forbidden  to  exercise 
tlieir  ministry  under  severe  penalties,  but  they  were  left 
without  any  visible  means  of  subsistence.  No  provision 
was  made  for  them,  no  mercy  was  shown  to  them;  on 
the  contrary,  one  persecuting  decree  was  followed  by  an- 
other, and  the  governing  powers  seemed  only  to  be  en- 
gaged in  racking  their  brains  to  devise  some  new  method 
of  vexing  and  tormenting  their  more  worthy  fellow-coun- 
trymen. 

On  the  list  of  the  ejected  ministers  stand  the  names  of 
Richard  Baxter,  John  Howe,  Joseph  AUeine,  John  Owen, 
Stephen  Charnock,  John  Flavel,  and  many  more,  whose 
writings  are  still  rendering  service  to  the  cause  of  God. 
About  thirty  of  the  ejected  belonged  to  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination. The  Church  of  England  sustained  a  blow 
from  that  ejectment  from  which  she  has  scarcely  yet  re- 
covered. Her  best  men  were  driven  away.  Uniformity 
was  the  idol  set  up,  and  all  who  would  not  bow  down  to 
it  were  sacrificed  without  mercy. 

The  hand  of  power  was  heavy  on  the  Nonconformists 
in  every  part  of  England.  In  Buckinghamshire  the  per- 
secution raged  with  intolerable  fierceness.  So  numerous 
were  the  prisoners  that  the  magistrates  were  obliged  to 
hire  two  large  houses  for  their  accommodation,  the  county 
jail  being  too  small.  On  one  occasion,  in  1664,  the  Bap- 
tist minister  of  Aylesbury  and  eleven  of  his  congregation 
were  seized,  among  whom  were  two  women.  They  were 
placed  before  the  justices  at  the  quarter  sessions,  and 
advantage  was  taken  of  the  35th  of  Qiieen  Elizabeth  to 
require  them  either  to  conform  to  the  Church  of  England 
and  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  or  to 
abjure  the  realm  ;  and  they  were  told  that  if  they  would 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  333 

not  do  either,  they  would  be  declared  guilty  of  felony 
and  sentence  of  death  would  be  passed  on  them,  Un- 
awed  by  this  prospect,  they  replied,  that  as  they  could  not 
comply  with  the  requisitions,  they  threw  themselves  on 
the  mercy  of  the  court ;  on  which  they  were  sentenced  to 
be  hanged,  and  sent  back  to  jail  till  the  day  of  execution. 
The  sentence  would  have  been  executed,  had  not  measures 
been  promptly  taken  to  lay  the  case  before  the  king  and 
obtain  his  interference.  The  son  of  one  of  the  condemned 
persons  hastened  to  London,  and  by  the  assistance  of 
William  Kiffin  procured  an  interview  with  the  lord 
chancellor,  who  immediately  proceeded  to  the  king. 
Implacable  as  Charles  had  proved  himself  to  be  in  John 
James'  case,  he  saw  that  the  wholesale  murder  contem- 
plated at  Aylesbury  would  bring  his  government  into  dis- 
repute, and  might  stir  up  resentment  not  easily  to  be  ap- 
peased. He  was  willing  enough  to  worry  his  subjects 
into  submission,  or  at  least  to  attempt  to  do  so,  by  confis- 
cation and  the  dungeon  ;  but  the  thought  of  sacrificing 
twelve  lives  at  once  to  the  demon  of  intolerance  was  too 
shocking  even  for  Charles  II.  A  reprieve  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  applicant,  and  at  the  next  assizes  his 
majesty's  pardon  was  produced  by  the  presiding  judge, 
and  the  prisoners  were  released. 

Let  me  now  give  an  instance  of  interference  with  the 
freedom  of  the  press.  Benjamin  Keach,  a  Baptist  minis- 
ter, wrote  a  small  book  for  children,  entitled,  "The  Child's 
Instructor  ;  or,  a  New  and  Easy  Primer."  In  the  catecheti- 
cal portion  of  the  book  Baptist  sentiments  were  inculcated. 
It  was  afl[irmed  that  "  believers,  or  godly  men  and  women 
only,  who  can  make  confession  of  their  faith  And  repent- 
ance," should  be  baptized.     The  personal  reign  of  the 


334  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Saviour  on  earth  for  a  thousand  years,  held  at  the  time 
by  some  Baptists,  was  taught.  And,  which  was  pecu- 
liarly offensive,  Mr.  Keach  said,  that "  Christ' s.true  minis- 
ters have  not  their  learning  and  wisdom  from  men,  or 
from  universities,  or  human  schools ;  for  human  learning, 
arts  and  sciences  are  not  essential  to  the  making  of  a 
true  minister ;  but  only  the  gift  of  God,  which  cannot  be 
bought  with  silver  or  gold.  And  also,  as  they  have  freely 
received  the  gift  of  God,  so  they  do  freely  administer ; 
they  do  not  preach  for  hire,  for  gain  or  filthy  lucre  ;  they 
are  not  like  false  teachers,  who  look  for  gain  from  their 
quarters,  who  eat  the  fat,  and  clothe  themselves  with  the 
wool,  and  kill  them  that  are  fed  ;  those  that  put  not  into 
their  mouths  they  prepare  war  against.  Also,  they  are 
not  lords  over  God's  heritage  ;  they  rule  them  not  by  force 
and  cruelty,  neither  have  they  power  to  force  and  compel 
men  to  believe  and  obey  their  doctrine,  but  are  only  to 
persuade  and  entreat ;  thus  is  the  way  of  the  gospel,  as 
Christ  taught  them." 

For  this  he  was  indicted  at  the  assizes.  The  language 
of  the  indictment  may  amuse  the  reader.  "  Thou  ai-t 
here  indicted  by  the  name  of  Benjamin  Keach,  of  Win- 
slow,  in  the  county  of  Bucks,  for  that  thou,  being  a 
seditious,  heretical,  and  schismatical  person,  evilly  and 
maliciously  disposed,  and  disaffected  to  his  majesty's 
government  of  the  Church  of  England,  didst  maliciously 
and  wickedly,  on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  sixteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  write, 
print,  and  publish,  or  cause  to  be  written,  printed,  and 
published,  one  seditious  and  venomous  book,  entitled, 
*  The  Child's  Instructor ;  or,  a  New  and  Easy  Primer ;' 
wherein  are  contained,  by  way  of  question  and  answer, 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  335 

these  damnable  positions,  contrary  to  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  and  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land." 

The  trial  took  phice  October  9,  1664.  Chief  Justice 
Hyde,  afterward  Lord  Clarendon,  presided,  and  con- 
ducted himself  with  a  malignity  wholly  unbefitting  his 
office.  Under  his  direction  a  verdict  of  "guilty"  was 
recorded,  and  the  judge  then  proceeded  to  pass  sentence, 
in  the  following  terms:  "Benjamin  Keach,  you  are  here 
convicted  for  writing,  printing,  and  publishing  a  seditious 
and  schismatical  book,  for  which  the  court's  judgment  is 
this,  and  the  court  doth  award  :  That  you  shall  go  to  jail 
for  a  fortnight,  without  bail  or  mainprise  ;  and  the  next 
Saturday  to  stand  upon  the  pillory  at  Aylesbury,  in  the 
open  market  for  the  space  of  two  hours,  from  eleven  of 
the  clock  to  one,  with  a  paper  upon  your  head  with  this 
inscription — '  For  writing,  printing,  and  publishing  a 
schismatical  book,  entitled,  "  The  Child's  Instructor  ;  or, 
a  New  and  Easy  Primer.'"  And  the  next  Thursday  to 
stand  in  the  same  manner,  and  for  the  same  time,  in  the 
market  of  Winslow  ;  and  there  your  book  shall  be  openly 
burnt  before  your  face,  by  the  common  hangman,  in  dis- 
grace of  you  and  your  doctrine.  And  you  shall  forfeit  to 
the  king's  majesty  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds,  and  shall 
remain  in  jail  until  you  find  sureties  for  your  good  be- 
havior, and  appearance  at  the  next  assizes,  there  to  re- 
nounce your  doctrines,  and  make  such  public  submission 
as  shall  be  enjoined  you." 

The  punishment  of  the  pillory  was  abolished  by  act  of 
Parliament  in  the  year  1S37.  The  instrument  so  called 
was  an  upright  frame  placed  on  a  scaffold,  upon  which 
the  offender  stood,  his  head  appearing  through  one  hole 


336  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

of  the  frame,  and  his  hands  fixed  in  two  others.  As  this 
punishment  was  generally  reserved  for  persons  guilty  of 
perjury  and  other  infamous  crimes,  the  mob  were  accus- 
tomed to  pelt  them  with  rotten  eggs  or  various  kinds  of 
filth,  and  even  with  stones  and  brickbats,  so  that  death 
sometimes  ensued.  To  such  an  exposure  the  lord  chief 
justice  of  England  delivered  up  a  worthy  minister  of  the 
gospel.  The  sentence  was  duly  carried  into  execution, 
and  the  sheriff,  who  was  himself  a  fierce  opposer  of  the 
truth,  took  care  that  the  judge's  directions  should  be 
obeyed  to  the  very  letter. 

It  was  market-day  at  Aylesbury.  The  town  was 
thronged.  People  flocked  thither  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  to  see  the  new  and  strange  spectacle.  But 
though  many  of  them  were  prepared  to  deride  and  sneer, 
the  usual  expressions  of  popular  indignation  were  want- 
ing. Hitherto  the  pillory  had  been  reserved  for  the  vilest 
criminals.  But  Mr.  Keach  was  a  good  man,  and  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel.  They  could  not  find  it  in  their 
hearts  to  pelt  hi7n. 

Precisely  at  eleven  o'clock  he  was  placed  in  the  pil- 
lory. Many  friends  attended  him,  and  stood  around  the 
instrument  of  torture  for  the  purpose  of  sympathy  and 
encouragement.  And  there,  too,  stood  his  wife,  and 
"  frequently  spoke  in  vindication  of  her  husband,  and 
of  the  principles  for  which  he  suffered."  A  true 
"  helpmeet." 

"  Good  people,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not  ashamed  to  stand 
here  this  day,  with  this  paper  on  my  head  ;  my  Lord 
Jesus  was  not  ashamed  to  suffer  on  the  cross  for  me  ;  and 
it  is  for  his  cause  that  I  am  made  a  gazing-stock.  It  is 
not  for  any  wickedness  that  I  stand  here,  but  for  writing 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  337 

and  publishing  his  truth."  "  No !"  exclaimed  an  Epis- 
copal clergyman  who  was  standing  by  ;  "  it  is  for  writing 
and  Dublishing  errors"  "  Sir,"  replied  Mr.  Keach,  "  can 
you  prove  them  errors?"  He  would  have  answered,  but 
he  was  too  well  known  by  the  multitude.  "  One  told 
him  of  his  being  pulled  drunk  out  of  a  ditch.  Another 
upbraided  him  with  being  lately  found  drunk  under  a 
haycock.  At  this  time  all  the  people  fell  to  laughing, 
and  turned  their  diversion  from  the  sufferer  in  the  pillory 
to  the  drunken  priest ;  insomuch  that  he  hastened  away 
with  the  utmost  disgrace  and  shame." 

When  the  uproar  had  subsided,  the  voice  from  the  pil- 
lory was  heard  again.  Having  somehow  slipped  one  of 
his  hands  out  of  the  hole,  he  took  his  Bible  from  his 
pocket  and  said,  "  Take  notice,  that  the  things  which  I 
have  written  and  published,  and  for  which  I  stand  here 
this  day  a  spectacle  to  men  and  angels,  are  all  contained 
in  this  book."  The  jailer  snatched  the  book  from  him, 
and  replaced  his  hand  in  the  hole. 

Still  the  voice  came  from  the  pillory :  "  A  great  con- 
cernment for  souls  was  that  which  moved  me  to  write 
and  publish  those  things  for  which  I  now  suffer,  and  for 
which  I  could  suffer  far  greater  things  than  these.  It 
concerns  you  therefore  to  be  very  careful,  otherwise  it 
will  be  very  sad  with  you  at  the  revelation  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  from  heaven  ;  for  we  must  all  appear  before  his 
tribunal." 

The  officers  interposed,  and  he  was  compelled  to  be 
silent  for  a  time.  But  again  he  ventured  :  "  Oh  !  did 
you  but  experience  the  great  love  of  God,  and  the  excel- 
lencies that  are  in  him,  it  would  make  )'Ou  willing  to  go 
through  any  sufferings  for  his  sake.  And  I  do  account 
29 


338  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

this  tht  greatest  honor  that  ever  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
confer  upon  me." 

The  sheriff  was  furious,  and  declaimed  that  he  should  be 
gagged  if  he  did  not  hold  his  tongue.  So  he  refrained  from 
speaking.  Yet  he  could  not  forbear  uttering  these  words  : 
*'This  one  'yoke'  of  Christ,  which  I  can  experience,  is 
'  easy '  to  me,  and  a  burthen  which  he  doth  make  '  light.' " 

When  the  two  hours  had  expired,  he  was  released,  and 
"  blessed  God  with  a  loud  voice  for  his  great  goodness 
unto  him." 

That  day  week  he  was  exposed  to  the  same  indignity 
at  Winslow,  where  he  lived,  and  bore  it  with  equal  pa- 
tience and  manliness.  There  also  his  book  was  publicly 
burned,  according  to  the  sentence.^ 

In  1664  the  Conventicle  Act  was  passed.  The  princi- 
pal clause  was  to  this  effect:  "  That  if  any  person  above 
the  age  of  sixteen  shall  be  present  at  any  meeting, 
under  color  or  pretence  of  any  exercise  of  religion,  in 
any  other  manner  than  is  allowed  by  the  liturgy  or  prac- 
tice of  the  Church  of  England,  where  shall  be  five  or 
more  persons  than  the  household,  he  shall  for  the  first 
offence  suffer  three  months'  imprisonment,  upon  record 
made  upon  oath,  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  a  justice  of 
peace,  or  pay  a  sum  not  exceeding  five  pounds  :  for  the 
second  offence  six  months'  imprisonment,  or  ten  pounds : 
and  for  the  third  offence,  the  offender  to  be  banished  to 
some  of  the  American  plantations  for  seven  years,  or  pay 
one  hundred  pounds,  excepting  New  England  or  Vir- 
ginia ;  and  in  case  they  return,  or  make  their  escape,  such 
persons  are  to  be  adjudged  felons,-  and  suffer  death  with 
out  benefit  of  clergy."  ^ 

1  Crosby,  ii.  186-208.  '^  Neal,  »v.  394. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  339 

The  procedings  under  this  act  were  summary.  There 
was  no  trial  by  jury.  A  single  justice  of  the  peace  was 
empowered  to  levy  the  fines,  or  commit  the  oflenders  to 
jail,  or  even  banish  them  for  seven  years,  and  there  was 
no  appeal  from  his  decision.  Under  the  operation  of  this 
law  vast  numbers  suffered  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom. 
Those  who  were  banished  were  sent  to  the  West  Indies, 
where  they  endured  very  hard  treatment. 

Next  year  the  Five-Mile  Act  was  passed.  It  was  en- 
titled, "An  Act  to  restrain  Nonconformists  from  inhabit- 
ing corporations."  All  Nonconformist  ministers  were 
required  to  take  the  following  oath  :  "  I,  A.  B.^  do  swear, 
that  it  is  not  lawful  upon  any  pretence  whatsoever  to  take 
arms  against  the  king  ;  and  that  I  do  abhor  that  traitorous 
position  of  taking  arms  by  his  authority  against  his  person 
or  against  those  that  are  commissioned  by  him,  in  pursu- 
ance of  such  commissions  ;  and  that  I  will  not  at  any  time 
endeavor  any  alteration  of  government,  either  in  church 
or  state."  The  Earl  of  Southampton  justly  observed  that 
this  was  an  oath  which  "  no  honest  man  could  take." 
But  those  ministers  who  refused  to  take  it  were  forbidden 
to  go  within  five  miles  of  any  city  or  town  that  sent  mem- 
bers to  Parliament,  or  within  five  miles  of  any  place 
where  they  had  formerly  exercised  their  ministry  before 
their  ejectment.  The  fine  for  every  offence  was  forty 
pounds.  They  were  also  declared  "  incapable  of  teach- 
ing any  public  or  private  schools :"  fine  forty  pounds. 
And  in  addition  to  the  fines,  any  tvo  justices  of  the 
peace  might  "  commit  the  offender  to  prison  for  six 
months." 

The  object  of  this  inhuman  act  was  to  silence  the  min- 
isters, or  compel  them  to  conform  for  fear  of  starvation 


340  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

"  But  the  body  of  Nonconformist  ministers  refused  the 
oath,  choosing  rather  to  leave  their  habitations,  their  re- 
lations and  friends,  and  all  visible  support,  than  destroy 
the  peace  of  their  consciences.  Those  ministers  \v)io 
had  some  little  estate  or  substance  of  their  own  retired  to 
remote  and  obscure  villages,  or  such  little  market  towns 
as  were  not  corporations,  and  more  than  ^ve  miles  from 
the  places  where  they  had  preached  ;  but  in  many  counties 
it  was  difficult  to  find  such  places  of  retirement,  for  either 
there  were  no  houses  untenanted,  or  they  were  annexed 
to  farms  which  the  ministers  were  not  capable  of  using, 
or  the  people  were  afraid  to  admit  the  ministers  into  their 
houses,  lest  they  should  be  suspected  as  favorers  of  non- 
conformity. Some  took  advantage  of  the  ministers'  ne- 
cessities, and  raised  their  rents  beyond  what  they  were 
able  to  give.  Great  numbers  were  thus  buried  in  ob- 
scurity ;  but  others,  who  had  neither  money  nor  friends, 
went  on  preaching  as  they  could,  till  they  were  sent  to 
prison,  thinking  it  more  eligible  to  perish  in  a  jail  than  to 
starA'e  out  of  one,  especially  when  by  this  means  they  had 
some  occasional  relief  from  their  hearers,  and  hopes  that 
their  wives  and  children  might  be  supported  after  their 
death.  Many  who  lay  concealed  in  distant  places  fvom 
their  flocks  in  the  day-time,  rode  thirty  or  forty  miles  to 
preach  to  them  in  the  night,  and  retired  3gain  before  day- 
light. These  hardships  tempted  some  few  to  conform" 
(says  Mr.  Baxter),  "  contrary  to  their  former  judgments ; 
but  the  body  of  Dissenters  remained  steadfast  to  their 
principles,  and  the  church  gained  neither  reputation  nof 
members."^ 

The  Conventicle  Act  having  failed  to  accomplish  its 

1  Neal,  iv.  402. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  341 

purpose,  and  the  time  specified  for  its  operation  having 
expired,  a  severer  law  was  passed  in  the  spring  of  1670. 
All  persons  attending  conventicles  were  to  be  fined  five 
shillings  for  the  first  ofience,  ten  shillings  for  the  second  ; 
the  preachers  were  to  be  fined  twenty  pounds  for  the  first 
offence,  forty  pounds  for  the  second  ;  the  owners  of  the 
houses,  barns,  buildings,  or  yards  in  which  the  meetings 
were  held,  were  to  be  fined  twenty  pounds  each  time  ; 
the  fines  were  to  be  "  levied  by  distress  and  sale  of  the 
oflJender's  goods  and  chattels ;''  the  money  was  to  be 
divided  into  three  parts — one-third  for  the  king,  one-third 
for  the  poor,  and  "  the  other  third  to  the  informer  or  his 
assistants,  regard  being  had  to  their  diligence  and  industry 
in  discovering,  dispersing,  and  punishing  the  said  con- 
venticles ;"  and  in  case  of  the  poverty  of  the  ministers, 
the  fines  imposed  on  them  were  to  be  levied  "  on  the 
goods  and  chattels  of  any  other  present."  Any  justice  of 
the  peace  refusing  to  carry  the  act  into  execution  was  to 
be  fined  five  pounds ;  and  it  was  expressly  declared, 
"  That  all  clauses  in  the  act  should  be  construed  most 
largely  and  beneficially  for  the  suppressing  of  conventi- 
cles, and  for  the  justification  and  encouragement  of  all 
persons  to  be  employed  in  the  execution  thereof."  ^ 

If  the  first  act  scourged  the  Dissenters  with  whips,  the 
second  was  a  scorpion  plague.  They  were  plundered  and 
imprisoned  without  remorse.  To  their  disgrace  be  it 
spoken,  Archbishop  Sheldon  and  many  of  the  bishops 
exerted  themselves  in  every  possible  way  to  enforce  the 
act.  They  sent  circulars  to  the  clergy,  directing  them  to 
stimulate  and  aid  the  civil  authorities ;  and  some  of  the 
bishops  went  in  person  to  the  places  where  meetings  were 

>  Neal,  426. 
29  « 


342  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

supposed  to  be  held,  in  order  to  encourage  the  constables, 
or  ensure  the  rigorous  discharge  of  their  duty. 

The  activity  of  the  informers  was  excited  by  the  prom- 
ised share  of  the  penalties.  Their  infamous  trade  be- 
came lucrative,  and  many  of  them  amassed  large  sums, 
mercilessly  filched  from  the  servants  of  God.  A  more 
degrading  and  detestable  occupation  cannot  well  be  im- 
agined. They  spent  their  time  in  prowling  about  the 
retired  streets  and  by-lanes  of  towns,  or  in  exploring  the 
recesses  of  woods,  and  wild,  desolate  places,  if  happily 
they  might  hear  the  voice  of  singing  or  prayer,  or  watch 
the  movements  of  some  straggler,  hastening  to  join  his 
brethren.  With  savage  glee  they  darted  upon  the  secret 
assembly,  gloating  over  their  confusion  and  distress,  and 
specially  rejoicing  when  they  seized  the  preacher,  because 
of  the  heavier  fine.  They  accompanied  the  constables 
when  they  executed  warrants  of  distress  on  property ; 
and  they  attended  the  sales  of  the  goods  seized,  taking 
care  to  get  bargains  for  themselves.  They  scrupled  not 
to  take  the  bed  from  under  the  sick  ;  they  robbed  of  their 
bread  children  whose  fathers  were  languishing  in  prison. 
The  law  created  their  calling,  and  encouraged  them  in 
diligently  pursuing  it.  Magistrates  urged  them  on.  Cler- 
gymen and  country  squires  applauded  their  cleverness, 
and  judges  on  the  bench  commended  them  for  their  zeal. 
There  was  an  unholy  alliance  against  truth  and  righteous 
ness,  in  which  the  titled  and  the  learned  were  willing  to 
associate  themselves  with  the  meanest,  the  wickedest,  and 
the  most  brutal  of  men. 

The  prisons  were  crowded.  Families  were  ruined. 
Houses  were  desolated.  Estates  were  impoverished  or 
abandoned.     Numbers  fled  their  native  shores,  and  sought 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  343 

in  Holland  or  in  the  American  wilderness  for  "freedom  to 
worship  God." 

I  will  give  the  details  of  one  case.  On  Lord's  Day,  the 
29th  of  May,  1670,  the  Baptists  of  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  met 
for  worship  in  a  house  about  a  mile  from  the  town.  T'vo 
persons  watched  them  and  became  informers.  The  min- 
ister wasi  fined  twenty  pounds,  and  forty  of  the  hearers 
live  shillings  each  ;  but  as  the  minister  was  poor,  his  fine 
was  imposed  on  five  members  of  the  congregation.  All 
the  fines  were  recovered  by  levying  distresses  on  property, 
which  was  done  forthwith. 

Walter  Brett  was  a  grocer ;  his  fine,  six  pounds  five 
shillings.  The  constables  took  from  him  two  barrels  of 
sugar  which  cost  him  more  than  fifteen  pounds. 

Thomas  Barnard  was  fined  six  pounds  five  shillings, 
and  his  brother  five  pounds  five  shillings.  Six  cows  were 
taken  from  them,  worth  twenty-seven  pounds. 

Richard  White,  brazier,  was  fined  three  pounds  fifteen 
shillings  ;  for  which,  brass  kettles  and  other  articles  were 
seized,  the  value  of  which  was  upward  of  ten  pounds. 

John  Tabret's  fine  was  two  pounds  fifteen  shillings ;  a 
cow  was  taken  for  it. 

John  Price  and  wife  were  fined  ten  shillings,  to  pay 
which  sum  four  cheeses  were  taken.  Price  told  the  con- 
stables that  "  he  never  sold  anything  to  so  great  an  ad- 
vantage, for  this  would  bring  him  an  hundred  fold." 
(See  Matt.  xix.  29.) 

The  same  system  of  excessive  and  heartless  distraint 
was  pursued  in  levying  the  fines  of  five  shillings  each 
upon  the  other  hearers.  Five  pairs  of  shoes  from  one 
shoemaker ;  three  pairs  from  another ;  three  hats  from  a 
haberdasher ;  a  horse  from  a  butcher ;  the  sheets  from  a 


344  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

poor  mason's  bed,  and  his  wife's  under-apparel — and  so 
on. 

Shortly  after  this  a  meeting  was  held  in  a  house  about 
three  miles  from  Lewes.  The  owner  was  fined  twenty- 
pounds,  and  to  meet  it  they  took  from  him  the  whole  of 
his  stock,  being  six  cows,  two  young  bullocks,  and  a 

hoise/ 

*  Ivimey,  i.  366-377. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

History  of  the  Broadmead  Church,  Bristol. 

PERHAPS  we  shall  obtain  a  cleai'er  view  of  the 
actual  condition  of  the  Baptists  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  from  the  history  of  one  church  than  from  any 
other  source.  We  are  fortunately  furnished  with  such  a 
history.  The  records  of  the  church  at  Broadmead,  Bris- 
tol, have  been  published  by  the  Hanserd  Knollys  Society. 
I  will  give  an  extract  of  the  narrative : 

This  church  was  founded  in  1640.  The  members  met 
regularly  for  worship,  whether  they  could  obtain  the  ser- 
vices of  a  minister  or  not,  the  gifted  brethren  helping  by 
prayer  and  exhortation.  In  1651,  Mr.  Ewins,  who  had 
been  a  minister  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  became  their 
pastor.  Under  his  ministry  the  church  prospered.  In 
addition  to  the  Lord's  Day  exercise,  they  met  on  Thurs- 
day evenings  in  private  houses  for  free  conference  on  the 
Scriptures  and  mutual  exhortation.  Those  meetings  were 
found  very  profitable. 

But  in  1661  their  troubles  began.  On  the  27th  of  July 
in  that  year,  Mr.  Ewins  was  apprehended  while  preach- 
ing. He  was  released  on  the  25th  of  September  follow- 
ing, and  immediately  recommenced  his  work.    Next  year 

345 


346  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

he  endured  another  short  imprisonment.  A  heavier  trial 
came  upon  them  in  1663.  Mr.  Ewins  and  several  others 
were  arrested  on  the  4th  of  October,  and  indicted  at  tlie 
quarter  sessions  for  a  riot.  Various  fines  were  imposed 
— Mr.  Ewins  was  fined  £50 — and  the  parties  adjudged 
to  lie  in  prison  till  the  fines  were  paid.  So  the  prison 
became  the  parsonage  till  the  following  September,  when 
a  compromise  was  effected,  and  on  payment  of  part  of 
the  money  the  prisoners  were  released.  Mr.  Ewins  had 
not  been  idle,  however.  The  people  were  accustomed  to 
gather  around  the  prison,  and  their  pastor  preached  to 
them  from  the  window  of  the  room  which  he  occupied,  on 
the  fourth  story.  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  was  precious 
in  those  days." 

Hitherto  they  had  met  in  a  "  chapel  called  the  Friars," 
but  now  they  were  compelled  for  a  time  to  worship  in 
private  houses.  The  constables  frequently  disturbed 
them,  and  many  were  imprisoned  and  fined.  Sometimes, 
when  they  learned  that  the  officers  were  coming,  they 
evaded  them  by  taking  refuge  in  a  cellar,  and  sometimes 
by  climbing  into  a  garret.  Still  they  resolutely  kept  up 
their  assemblies.  "  In  the  year  1665,"  they  say,  "  we  had 
many  disturbances,  and  divers  imprisoned,  but  the  Lord 
helped  us  through  it."  Their  firmness  was  remarkably 
shown  by  a  resolution  passed  to  the  effect  that  those  who 
absented  themselves  from  -worship  through  fear  should 
be  dealt  with  as  disorderly  members.  The  names  of  all 
the  members  were  engrossed  on  parchment,  and  the  roll 
was  called  once  a  month,  when  they  met  for  the  Lord's 
supper,  "  to  see  who  doth  omit  their  duty."  Not  many 
were  willing  to  expose  themselves  to  church  censure ; 
but  now  and  then  a  case  occurred,  and  the  delinquents 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  347 

were  excluded  "  for  neglecting  their  duty  of  assembling, 
through  fear." 

.  When  the  plague  broke  out  in  Bristol,  in  1666,  a  stop 
•was  put  to  the  persecution.  There  was  peace  for  four 
years.  In  1667  the  church  obtained  another  "public 
meeting-place."  It  was  "a  large  warehouse,  up  one  pair 
of  stairs."  Mr.  Ewins  died  Aj^ril  26th,  1670.  In  the 
following  month  the  police  made  their  appearance  again, 
and  took  some  members  of  the  congregation  to  the  magis- 
trates, who  fined  them.  This  was  repeated  several  Lord's 
Days ;  but  they  secured  the  preacher  by  breaking  a  hole 
in  the  wall,  so  that  he  could  stand  in  a  room  of  the  ad- 
joining house,  and  preach  without  being  seen.  Thus 
their  enemies  were  baffled.  The  opposition  becoming 
more  violent,  they  adopted  another  course.  They  nailed 
up  the  doors  of  the  meeting-house,  and  "  we  were  fain," 
the  record  states,  "  to  meet  in  the  lanes  and  highways  for 
several  months." 

Another  interval  of  tranquillity  was  enjoyed.  They  in- 
vited Mr.  Thomas  Hardcastle,  who  had  been  preaching 
some  time  in  London,  to  become  their  pastor.  He  was 
in  prison  when  the  invitation  reached  him.  After  his 
release  he  visited  the  church,  and  subsequently  accepted 
the  charge,  in  1671.  In  that  year  they  procured  "  the 
meeting-house  at  the  lower  end  of  Bi'oadmead,  where  the 
heretics  called  Qiiakers  had  formerly  used  to  meet ;  it 
being  four  great  rooms  made  into  one  square  room,  about 
sixteen  yards  long  and  fifteen  yards  broad."  There  Mr. 
Hardcastle  preached  upward  of  three  years  without  any 
disturbance. 

But  in  1674  there  came  a  new  bishop  to  Bristol,  "one 
GuyCarleton" — "though  aged  and  gray,  a  violent  man 


348  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

against  good  people  that  separated  from  that  which  he 
called  the  church."  ..."  He  resolved  to  destroy  all  our 
meetings,  and  said  he  would  not  leave  a  track  of  a  meet- 
ing in  Bristol ;  but  would  make  us  all  come  to  church,  as 
he  called  it."  With  him  was  leagued  George  Hellier,  a 
lawyer,  who  took  up  the  trade  of  an  informer,  and  found 
it  more  lucrative  than  his  profession.  He  spent  the  Lord's 
Days  in  going  from  one  meeting-house  to  another,  in 
search  of  prey.  His  chief  object  was  to  seize  the  minis- 
ter, partly  in  the  hope  of  suppressing  the  meetings  there- 
by, and  partly  for  the  sake  of  the  heavy  fine.  Mr.  Hard- 
castle  was  apprehended  Feb.  4,  1675,  and  committed  to 
jail  for  six  months.  But  the  meetings  were  not  discon- 
tinued, although  arrests  took  place  nearly  every  Lord's 
Day.  In  order  to  protect  the  preacher,  a  curtain  was 
prepared,  by  which,  when  drawn,  a  portion  of  the  room 
was  separated.  About  fifty  persons  could  sit  behind  the 
curtain,  the  preacher  being  placed  among  them,  undis- 
tinguished. Care  was  taken  that  a  number  of  "  women 
and  maids"  should  sit  on  the  staircase,  "so  that  the  in- 
formers could  not  quickly  run  up."  By  this  contrivance, 
whenever  Hellier  and  his  minions  were  approaching,  no- 
tice was  given,  the  curtain  was  drawn,  the  service  ceased, 
and  the  whole  congregation,  according  to  a  preconcerted 
arrangement,  commenced  singing  a  psalm.  When  the 
informers  entered  at  such  a  time,  they  were  utterly  con- 
fused. It  was  impossible  to  tell  who  had  been  preaching  ; 
and  singing  psalms  was  no  crime.  But  "justice  had 
fallen  in  the  streets,"  and  they  rarely  failed  to  drag  away 
some  of  the  congregation  to  prison,  and  to  procure  the 
infliction  of  fines  upon  them. 

Mr.  Hardcastle  was  released  from  prison  at  the  end  of 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  349 

six  months ;  but  on  the  second  Lord's  Day  after  his  re- 
lease, he  was  apprehended  while  preaching,  and  sent  to 
jail  again.  During  this  second  term  of  imprisonment 
he  wrote  a  weekly  letter  to  the  church,  which  was  read 
at  the  Lord's  Day  meetings.  These  letters  have  been 
preserved.  They  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  instruc- 
tion and  comfort  of  a  people  under  such  trying  circum- 
stances. And  they  were  much  needed.  Toward  the  en(] 
of  the  year  the  meetings  were  "  grown  very  poor  and 
lean,  through  fines,  impris9nments,  and  constant  worry- 
ing of  us  every  day."  On  one  occasion  the  bishop  him- 
self was  among  the  constables  ! 

I  will  transcribe  a  few  passages  from  Mr.  Hardcastle's 
letters : 

"■  It  has  been  our  great  error  that  we  have  not  trusted 
in  the  power  of  God.  We  have  reasoned  about  the  worst 
that  men  can  do,  but  have  not  believed  the  best  that  God 
can  do.  Sense  and  carnal  reason  must  be  left  behind  in 
the  things  of  God." 

"  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  the  ordinance  of  Christ, 
and  so  is  the  imprisonment  of  the  preachers  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  but  I  never  knew  that  forbearing  to  preach,  for  fear 
of  a  prison,  did  ever  convince  or  establish  any  one." 

"Keep  your  consciences,  keep  your  confidences,  keep 
your  communions,  and  all  is  well  enough." 

"  Wicked  men,  and  ungodly  men,  are  prevented  of 
doing  that  mischief  they  design  against  the  people  of 
God,  when  they  trust  in  his  power.  And  g')dly  men  are 
disappointed  of  that  good  which  they  expect  from  other 
men,  when,  by  such  expectings,  their  faith  in  the  om- 
nipotence of  God  is  weakened  and  divided." 

"  Precious  faith  makes  sin  rare  to  a  believer ;  and  to 

30 


350  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

see  sin  most  vile,  makes  faith  most  precious,  because  it 
keeps  a  due  distance  between  the  precious  and  the  vile. 
Now,  common  and  counterfeit  faith  makes  no  such  dis- 
tinctions, no  such  separation  ;  knows  no  such  awe  and 
tenderness ;  admits  of  the  prevalency  of  corruptness  with 
the  eminency  of  privileges,  the  power  of  ungodliness  with 
the  form  of  godliness ;  sees  no  such  unhandsomeness, 
nor  uncomeliness,  to  have  the  money-changers  in  the 
temple ;  does  not  think  that  there  is  such  need  of  that 
strictness,  niceness,  and  circumspection  amongst  be- 
lievers. This  creed-faith,  baptism-faith,  supper-faith — in 
a  word,  this  tradition,  profession,  conviction-faith,  that 
is  a  stranger  to  this  preciousness  and  power — will  in  case 
make  no  great  matter  of  handling  and  taking  up  a  sin,  or 
letting  fall  a  duty,  if  men  see  not  or  say  nothing.  Out- 
ward profession  and  performances  are  its  paint ;  natural 
conscience,  credit,  interest,  custom,  or  company  are  its 
pulleys." 

"  The  Lord  will  save  his  people  with  a  'notwithstand- 
ing.'    How  is  this.'' 

"  I.  Notwithstanding  their  own  unworthiness,  imper- 
fections, backslidings,  and  unfitness  for  mercies. 

"  2.  Notwithstanding  their  fears,  faintings,  desponden- 
cies, unbelief,  and  positive  conclusion  against  themselves, 
their  hopes,  and  the  returns  of  mercy. 

"  3.  Notwithstanding  all  the  improbabilities,  and  grow- 
ing oppositions  and  obstructions  that  seem  to  lie  in  the 
way  of  their  peace  and  deliverance. 

"4.  Notwithstanding  the  power,  prevalency,  expecta- 
tions, interests,  and  insultings  of  their  enemies. 

"  5.  Notwithstanding  many  tokens  and  testimonies  of 
his  own  displeasure  and  indignation  against  them,  and  a 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  35 1 

kind  of  i-esolution  not  to  show  mercy  to  them  any  more. 
See  Hosea  ii.  4-7,  14,  15,  23  ;  Judges  x.  11-17.  ^  must 
conclude  with  this :  Peter  was  afraid,  and  he  began  lo 
sink ;  our  fears  are  the  great  cause  of  our  sinkings.  But 
when  he  began  to  sink,  Christ  came  to  his  relief,  and 
saved  him  ;  he  will  make  you  to  cry  out,  but  he  will  not 
sufler  you  to  perish.     The  Lord  increase  your  faith." 

"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  that  which  is  primarily  pro- 
mised, and  principally  to  be  sought  after.  Other  things 
are  consequential  and  cautionary  ;  secondary  helps,  made 
use  of  as  lesser  means  ;  baits,  not  business.  A  little  of 
them  helps  a  traveler  on  his  journey  more  comfortably  ; 
l.iut  a  great  deal  proves  his  burden  and  his  hindrance. 
Heaven  is  the  great  deed  of  settlement ;  the  earth  is  but 
the  loose  money  to  bear  the  charges — the  staff  to  walk  to 
the  kingdom." 

From  the  beginning  of  1676  to  the  middle  of  1680  there 
was  a  lull  in  the  storm.  Mr.  Hardcastle  died  in  1678, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  George  Fownes  in  September, 
1679. 

Interruption  of  their  worship  was  resumed  in  July, 
1680,  and  continued  at  times  through  that  year  and  the 
next.  In  December,  1681,  Mr.  Fownes  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  brethren  were  seized  and  sent  to  prison.  He 
preached  to  them  there.  Twenty-four  of  them  were 
brought  up  at  the  quarter  sessions,  and  obliged  to  give 
bail  for  their  appeaance  when  called  on  to  answer  an 
indictment  for  a  breach  of  the  peace,  with  which  they 
were  most  unrighteously  threatened.  Mr.  Fownes  was 
detained,  but  the  brethren  were  determined  to  test  the 
legality  of  his  imprisonment,  and  procured  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus^  by  which  means  his  cause  was  taken  to 


352  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

the  Court  of  King's  Bench  at  London,  and  he  was  ulti- 
mately discharged,  although  he  was  still  prevented  from 
preaching  in  public,  by  the  operation  of  the  Five-Mile 
Act. 

The  years  16S2  and  16S3  were  the  darkest  times  to 
them.  They  held  their  meetings  in  private  houses,  in 
the  fields,  or  in  the  woods,  wherever  they  could  best 
escape  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities.  Mayor,  aldermen, 
and  constables  could  hardly  have  gone  to  church  at  all  in 
those  years,  for  all  their  time  was  spent  in  hunting  after 
Dissenters'  meetings.  A  few  brief  extracts  from  the 
records  will  show  how  our  ancestors  fared  : 

1682.  jfan.  29. — The  church  met  at  four  different  places. 
Many  of  them  "  went  in  the  afternoon  on  Durdham  Down, 
and  got  into  a  cave  of  a  rock  toward  Clifton,  where 
Brother  Thomas  Whinnell  preached  to  them." 

March  12. — "Met  in  the  fields  by  Barton  Hundred, 
and  Mr.  Samuel  Buttall  of  Plymouth  preached  in  the  fore- 
part of  the  day,  and  Brother  Whinnell  in  the  evening. 
It  was  thought  there  were  near  a  thousand  persons  in  the 
morning." 

March  19, — "Met  in  the  lanes  beyond  Baptist  Mills." 

April  13. — "Met  in  the  rain  in  a  lane." 

April  20. — "  A  day  of  pi'ayer,  from  nine  to  five  in 
the  evening,  at  Mr.  Jackon's  over  the  Down,  in  peace." 

May  4. — "  Information  was  brought  to  a  petty  session 
for  Gloucestershire,  against  Brother  Jennings,  for  preach- 
ing in  the  lanes,  and  a  warrant  granted  for  levying  five 
pounds,  or  else  goods,  or  person." 

June  II. — "Brother  Fownes  being  come  from  Lon- 
don, but  not  daring  to  come  into  the  city  because  of  the 
Corporation  Act,  met  with  us,  and  preached  in  Kings- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  353 

wood,  near  Scruze  Hole,  under  a  tree,  and  endured  the 
rain." 

yuly  2. — "  Our  pastor  preached  in  another  place  in 
the  wood.  Our  friends  took  much  pains  in  the  rain,  be- 
cause many  informers  were  ordered  out  to  search  ;  and 
we  were  in  peace,  though  there  were  near  twenty  men 
and  boys  in  search," 

yuly  16. — "  Brother  Fownes  first,  and  Brother  Whin- 
nell  after,  preached  under  a  tree,  it  being  very  rainy." 

August  20. — "Met  above  Scruze  Hole,  in  our  old 
place,  and  heard  Brother  Fownes  preach  twice  in  peace. 
Brother  Terrill  had  caused  a  workman  to  make  banks  on 
the  side  of  the  hill  to  sit  down  on,  several  of  them  like  a 
gallery ;  and  there  we  met  also  on  the  27th,  in  peace. 
On  both  days  we  sang  a  psalm  in  the  open  woods." 

"  On  the  yth  of  December  we  met  for  our  lecture  at 
Mr.  Shuter's  on  Redclifle  Hill  in  peace,  taking  a  great 
deal  of  care  in  going  and  coming,  the  women  wearing 
neither  white  aprons  nor  pattens." 

1683.  Jan.  21. — "We  met  at  eight  in  the  morning, 
and  though  there  were  seven  on  horseback  and  twenty 
on  foot  to  seek  after  us,  we  escaped,  having  broken  up  at 
ten."  • 

March. — "  This  week  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Dissenters  were  convicted  by  our  recorder,  on  the  stat- 
ute of  23d  Eliz.,  for  £30  a  month,  for  not  coming  to 
church." 

March  25. — Mr.  Fownes,  though  "  very  ill,  went  to 
tlie  meetings  in  the  wood  ;  but  after  three  quarters  of  an 
hour  we  were  surrounded  by  horse  and  foot,  the  formei 
in  ambush."  Mr.  Fownes  was  arrested  and  sent  to 
Gloucester  jail  for  six  months. 

30* 


354  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

April  32. — "  We  went  out  at  four  in  the  morning,  and 
were  in  peace." 

November  14. — "  A  day  of  pra^^er,  having  some  hours 
together  in  the  wood,  between  London  and  Sodbury 
Road :  the  enemy  came  upon  us  unawares,  and  seized 
about  eight  persons  ;  but  the  brethren  escaped  to  admira- 
tion. The  bushes  were  of  great  service  to  us."  A  num- 
ber of  the  sisters  were  taken  :  "  they  got  Justice  Fitz 
Herbert  to  come,  and  upon  examination  he  could  get  little 
out  of  them,  and  could  not  learn  who  was  the  preacher ; 
so  they  were  let  go." 

December  20. — "  Watkins  the  marshal,  and  others, 
went  with  warrants  from  Justice  Herbert  to  Brother  John 
Morgan,  in  Temple  street,  and  took  his  yarn  and  what 
goods  they  could  find,  for  seven  pounds  ten  shillings. 
And  the  day  before  took  away  Margaret  Seymour's  trunk 
and  clothes,  with  about  thirty  pounds,  for  seven  pounds 
odd  money,  for  being  at  our  meeting  in  the  fields." 

Decetnber  30. — "  Being  a  hard  frost,  and  snow  on  the 
ground,  we  met  in  the  wood,  and  though  we  stood  in  the 
snow,  the  sun  shone  upon  us,  and  we  were  in  peace." 

1684.  March  4. — "  We  took  our  sad  state  into  consid- 
eration ;  and  Brother  Terrill  signified  that  *ur  duty  lay 
in  three  things:  ist.  To  watch  over  one  another,  that 
none  draw  back  to  the  world's  worship.  2d.  That  every 
one  sanctify  the  Lord's  Day.  3d.  That  we  endeavor  to 
edify  one  another  as  members,  and  also  do  what  we  can 
for  others'  souls.  And,  considering  what  is  above,  and 
that  writs  are  daily  expected  to  levy  £20  a  month,  £240 
per  annum  a  man,  upon  us,  for  not  coming  to  church,  or 
imprison  us  if  it  be  not  paid,  there  being  thirteen  brethren 
present,  we  agreed  to  have  circular  meetings  at  five  places, 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  355 

where  the  brethren  were  to  exercise  their  gifts,  and  twice 
in  a  day,  at  nine  in  the  morning  and  at  one  in  the  after- 
noon. These  five  places  were,  ist.  Brother  Dickson  or 
Davis  ;  2d,  Brother  Clark  or  Robert  Lewis  ;  3d,  Brother 
Whinnell ;  4th,  Brother  Ellis  or  J.  Cornish  ;  5th  Brother 
Terrill.  And  also  three  places  for  prayer  and  repetition  ; 
viz..  Brother  Gwilliam's,  Brother  Bodenham's,  Brother 
Reeve's.  And  because  some  might  be  sick  or  otherwise 
detained,  we  appointed  six  or  seven  to  a  place,  and  the 
first  four  were  to  be  taken  in,  and  that  those  that  were 
shut  out  were  to  go  to  the  places  of  repetition.  And 
none  were  to  go  to  a  place  but  once  a  day,  and  not  to  the 
same  place  every  Lord's  Day  ;  but  round,  so  they  came 
to  the  same  once  in  five  weeks.  And  by  this  means  near 
one  hundred  might  hear  every  Lord's  Day,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  have  the  benefit  of  all  the  church's  gifts.  And 
besides.  Brother  Whinnell  would  repeat  again  at  some 
house  in  the  evening,  and  on  week-days  at  other  places. 
Thus  we  kept  within  the  law,  which  allowed  four  besides 
the  family.  And  on  the  ninth  of  March  we  began  this 
circular  meeting." 

April  10. — "  Brother  Warren  was  fined  J£io  for  a  riot, 
being  at  a  meeting  near  Roe  Gate,  and  fees  47-5"-?  which 
he  paid  in  the  hall  at  Gloucester.  But  Lugg  was  for- 
sworn in  it,  for  he  swore  it  was  on  the  27th,  and  it  was 
on  the  29th  day  that  the  meeting  was.  Old  Brother 
Cornish  was  bound  to  appear  again  next  sessions,  and 
several  others.  Some  were  fined  405.  and  their  fees,  and 
released.  Sister  Fovvles  was  put  in  prison  at  Gloucester 
Some  were  fined  five  marks,  as  Mr.  Jos.  Wey  ;  some  £5, 
as  the  justices  pleased,  and  to  lie  in  prison  till  paid. 
About  this  time  Pug  Read  died  miserably,  being  an  in 


356  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

former  about  twenty  years  old  :  had  his  skull  broke,  as  said, 
by  one  of  his  companions  ;  he  was  one  that  broke  ir.to 
Mr.  Terrill's  house." 

September  i6. —  "Several  of  our  brethren,  Brother 
Hunt,  William  Dickason,  etc.,  and  many  more,  were 
summoned  by  the  apparitor  to  the  bishop's  court,  for  not 
receiving  the  Lord's  supper." 

October  7. — "  Nearly  twenty  more  friends  were  indicted 
for  eleven  months'  not  coming  to  church."  ..."  And 
Brother  Fownes  being  brouglit  into  court,  was  by  Powell, 
the  chairman,  called  a  i-ingleader,  turbulent,  seditious, 
and  told  he  must  find  six  hundred  pounds'  bail  to  appear 
next  sessions  at  Bristol,  and  be  of  good  behavior,  or  lie 
in  prison." 

October  10. — "  New  mayor  and  sheriff  being  chosen, 
James  Twyford,  sheriff,  threatens  to  find  out  our  little 
meetings,  and  he  would  be  like  death — spare  none." 

16S5.  January  13. — "At  the  quarter  sessions.  Brother 
Fownes  was  treated  as  before,  and  Justice  Powell,  the 
chairman,  told  him  Sir  Richard  Hart,  of  Bristol,  should 
say  he  was  a  dangerous  man.  So  they  still  kept  him 
there  at  Gloucester,  prisoner." 

"On  the  29th  of  November,  16S5,  our  pastor,  Brother 
Povjnes,  died  in  Gloucester  jail,  having  been  kept  there 
for  two  years  and  about  nine  months  a  prisoner,  unjustly 
and  maliciously,  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  and  preaching 
the  gospel."  He  was  originally  committed  for  six  months, 
but  they  would  not  release  him  unless  he  would  give  bond 
for  his  good  behavior,  which  meant  that  he  would  not 
preach  again.     This,  of  course,  he  would  not  do. 

Thus  the  enemy  prevailed,  and  the  sei-vants  of  God 
were  brought  low.     Truly,  they  were  "  perilous  times." 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Declaration  of  Indulgence — Confession  of  Faith— Fierce  Persecution- 
Thomas  Delaune — The  Duke  of  Monmouth's  Rebellion — Account 
of  the  Hewlings — Mrs.  Gaunt — The  Dark  Time — Another  Declara- 
tion of  Indulgence — William  Kiffin — The  Glorious  Revolution. 

THERE  were  some  intervals  of  rest  during  this 
period.  King  Charles  was  bent  on  removing  the 
restrictions  imposed  on  Roman  Catholics,  and  on  several 
occasions  the  severity  of  the  persecution  was  relaxed,  in 
the  hope  that  some  general  measure  would  be  introduced 
in  Parliament  embracing  all  parties.  In  1672  he  issued  a 
"  Declaration  of  Indulgence,"  by  which,  in  the  exercise 
of  the  prerogative,  the  operation  of  the  penal  enactment 
was  suspended  during  the  royal  pleasure.  Many  Non- 
conformist ministers  availed  themselves  of  it,  and  took  out 
licenses  to  preach. 

But  the  Dissenters  generally  refused  to  receive  the 
"  Declaration,"  declaring  it  an  unlawful  exercise  of  the 
prerogative,  and  fearing  the  consequences  that  might  fol- 
low the  admission  of  Roman  Catholics  to  power.  They 
did  more.  They  submitted  without  a  murmur  to  the 
Test  Act,  which  was  passed  in  1673,  and  by  which  all 
persons  who  accepted  office  of  any  kind  under  the  govern- 
ment were  required  to  take  the  Lord's  supper  according 

357 


358  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  to  subscribe  a 
declaration  against  transubstantiation.  The  primary  ob- 
ject of  that  act  was  the  exclusion  of  Roman  Catholics 
from  power,  and  that  being  accomplished,  it  was  expected 
that  the  door  would  be  opened  to  Protestant  Dissenters 
by  a  repeal  of  the  test,  as  far  as  they  were  concerned. 
But  bigotry  kept  the  door  shut  till  the  year  1828,  and  the 
Lord's  supper  was  all  that  time  "an  office  key,  a  picklock 
to  a  place." 

In  the  midst  of  the  uncertainties  and  perils  of  the  times, 
a  meeting  of  ministers  and  delegates  was  summoned  in 
1675,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  taking  steps  for  the 
education  of  candidates  for  the  ministry.  Whether  the 
meeting  was  held  or  not,  I  am  not  able  to  say ;  but  the 
proposal  itself,  under  those  circumstances,  indicates  moral 
courage  as  well  as  enlightened  views. 

Two  years  after,  a  Confession  of  Faith  was  published, 
under  the  following  title :  "  A  Confession  of  Faith,  put 
forth  by  the  elders  and  brethren  of  many  congregations 
of  Christians  (baptized  upon  profession  of  their  faith)  in 
London  and  the  country.  With  an  Appendix  concerning 
baptism." 

In  doctrinal  points  the  language  of  the  Assembly's 
Confession  is  for  the  most  part  adopted,  while  on  baptism 
and  church  government  the  views  of  our  denomination 
are  very  clearly  and  fully  expressed.  The  alleged  grounds 
of  infant  baptism  are  critically  examined  in  the  appendix, 
and  their  insufficiency  proved.  "  Let  it  not  therefore  be 
judged  of  us  (because  much  hath  been  written  on  this 
subject,  and  yet  we  continue  this  our  practice  different 
from  others)  that  it  is  out  of  obstinacy ;  but  rather,  as  the 
truth  is,  thnt  we  do  herein,  according  to  the  best  of  our 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  359 

understandings,  worship  God,  out  of  a  pure  mind,  yield- 
ing obedience  to  his  precept,  in  that  method  which  we 
take  to  be  most  agreeable  to  the  Scriptures  of  truth  and 
primitive  practice.  ...  It  would  not  become  us  to  give 
any  such  intimation  as  should  carry  a  semblance  that 
what  we  do  in  the  service  of  God  is  with  a  doubting  con- 
science, or  with  any  such  temper  of  mind,  that  we  do 
thus  for  the  present  with  a  reservation  that  we  will  do 
otherwise  hereafter  upon  more  mature  deliberation  ;  nor 
have  we  any  cause  so  to  do,  being  fully  persuaded  that 
what  we  do  is  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God.  Yet  we  do 
heartily  propose  this,  that  if  any  of  the  servants  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  attempt 
to  convince  us  of  any  mistake,  either  in  judgment  or 
practice,  we  shall  diligently  ponder  his  arguments,  and 
account  him  our  chiefest  friend  that  shall  be  an  instru- 
ment to  convert  us  from  any  error  that  is  in  our  ways ; 
for  we  cannot  wittingly  do  anything  against  the  truth, 
but  all  things  for  the  truth."  ^ 

This  is  thoroughly  Baptist  language.  So  we  have  al- 
ways held  and  professed.  We  are  "  ready  to  give  an 
answer  to  any  man  that  asketh  us  a  reason  of  the  hope 
that  is  in  us,"  and  we  trust  that  we  shall  ever  be  thankful 
to  any  man  who  will  convince  us  of  error  or  show  us  "  a 
more  excellent  way." 

The  persecution  raged  furiously  in  the  latter  years  of 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.  It  seemed  to  be  the  settled 
policy  of  the  Court  to  crush  the  Nonconformists.  In- 
formers fattened  on  them.  Judges  and  magistrates  en- 
couraged the  informers,  and  were  in  their  turn  urged  to 
greater  diligence  and  zeal  in  their  infamous  career  by  the 

'  Confessions  of  Faith,  etc.,  p.  232. 


360  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

clergy,  even  by  bishops.  Some  of  the  Nonconformists 
were  cited  to  the  spiritual  courts  and  excommunicated, 
which  was  tantamount  to  ruin,  as  an  excommunicated 
person  was  out  of  the  protection  of  the  law.  Others 
were  prosecuted  for  attending  conventicles  or  for  not  go- 
ing to  church,  and  their  property  was  seized  for  the  pay- 
ment of  fines.  So  numerous  were  these  cases  that  in  the 
small  town  of  Uxbridge  and  its  neighborhood  (fifteen 
miles  from  London)  "  two  hundred  warrants  of  distress 
were  issued."  The  ministers,  particularly,  were  hunted 
down  like  wild  beasts.  Many  of  them  were  under  the 
necessity  of  selling  their  household  furniture  and  books, 
in  order  to  provide  food  for  their  starving  families.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  property  to  the  amount  of  two 
millions  sterling  in  value  was  taken  from  the  Noncon- 
formists during  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. 

The  prisons  were  crowded,  and  great  numbers  died  in 
confinement — as  really  put  to  death — murdered — as  if 
they  had  been  hanged  or  shot.     I  will  select  one  instance  : 

Thomas  Delaune  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  His  parents 
were  Roman  Catholics.  The  gentleman  on  whose  estate 
they  lived  noticing  in  young  Delaune  an  aptness  for  study, 
sent  him  to  a  friary  at  Kilcrash,  about  seven  miles  from 
Cork,  for  education.  Having  remained  there  nine  years, 
he  obtained  a  situation  at  Kingsale,  as  clerk  to  a  Mr. 
Bampfield,  who  was  largely  engaged  in  the  pilchard 
fishery.  Mr.  Bampfield's  efforts  were  blessed  to  his  con- 
version from  Popery  and  sin.  After  some  years  he  found 
it  necessary  to  leave  Ireland,  his  religious  zeal  having 
excited  persecution.  He  settled  ultimately  in  London,  as 
a  schoolmaster,  and  was  well  known  as  a  pious,  learned, 
and  exemplary  man.     He  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Ben- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  361 

jamin  Keach,  William  Kiffin,  and  othci"  Baptist   minis- 
ters, b^  whom  he  was  much  esteemed. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Calamy,  one  of  the  royal  chaplains,  pub- 
lished a  sermon,  entitled  "  A  Scrupulous  Conscience." 
He  challenged  the  Nonconformists  to  a  discussion  of  the 
points  at  issue  between  the  Church  of  England  and  them- 
selves, and  invited  them  to  propose  their  doubts  and  diffi- 
culties, that  the  truth  might  be  ascertained.  Mr.  Delaune 
accepted  the  challenge,  and  wrote  his  "•  Plea  for  the  Non- 
conformists," in  which  the  subject  is  handled  with  con- 
summate ability.  "  The  book,"  says  Defoe,  "  is  perfect 
in  itself.  Never  author  left  behind  him  a  more  finished 
piece  ;  and  I  believe  the  dispute  is  entirely  ended.  If 
any  man  ask  what  we  can  say,  why  the  Dissenters  differ 
from  the  Church  of  England,  and  what  they  can  plead 
for  it,  I  can  recommend  no  better  reply  than  this.  Let 
them  answer,  in  short,  Thomas  Delaune,  and  desire  the 
querist  to  read  the  book."  Before  the  work  was  finished 
at  press,  it  was  seized  by  a  king's  messenger,  and  its  au- 
thor lodged  in  jail.  He  was  first  "  committed  to  Wood 
Street  Compter,  and  lodged  among  the  common-side 
prisoners,  where  he  had  a  hard  bench  for  his  b^,  and 
two  bricks  for  his  pillows."  Thence  he  was  removed  to 
Newgate,  and  placed  among  the  felons,  whose  "  horrid 
company,"  as  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Calamy,  gave  him  "  a  per- 
fect representation  of  that  horrid  place  which  you  describe 
when  you  mention  hell."  He  was  afterward  allowed  to 
associate  with  prisoners  of  a  better  sort.  Before  his  trial 
he  appealed  to  Dr.  Calamy  for  friendly  interference  on 
his  behalf.  The  doctor,  as  he  reminded  him,  had  invited 
discussion,  and  in  writing  the  book  he  had  but  responded 
to  his  challenge.     But  instead  of  the  treatment  which 


5^2  BAPTIST  HIS  TOR  r. 

one  scholar  ought  to  expect  from  another,  he  was  cast 
into  prison.  He  "would  fain  be  convinced  by  some- 
thing more  like  divinity  than  Newgate."  "  I  had  some 
thoughts,"  he  said  in  another  communication,  "  that  you 
would  have  performed  the  office  of  a  divine,  in  visiting 
me  in  my  place  of  confinement ;  either  to  argue  me  out 
of  my  doubts,  which  your  promised  Scripture  and  rea- 
son^ not  a  mittimus  or  Newgate^  could  easily  do.  To 
the  former  I  can  yield.  To  the  latter  it  seems  I  must. 
This  is  a  severe  kind  of  logic,  and  will  probably  dispute 
me  out  of  this  world."  But  Dr.  Calamy  was  deaf  to  his 
appeal,  and  ungenerous  enough  to  abstain  from  exercising 
any  influence  on  behalf  of  his  opponent. 

Mr.  Delaune  was  tried  at  the  Old  Bailey  in  January, 
1684,  for  "  a  certain  false,  seditious,  and  scandalous  libel 
against  the  king  and  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  He 
entreated  that  the  question  might  be  thoroughly  and  fairly 
examined.  "  I  desire,"  he  said,  "  that  the  entire  para- 
graphs may  be  read,  from  which  the  crimes  charged 
against  me  are  inferred.  If  fragments  only  be  produced, 
from  which  no  perfect  sense  can  be  deduced,  I  shall  be 
unfairly  dealt  with.  The  coherence  of  sense  in  a  con- 
tinued discourse,  not  scraps  and  broken  pieces  of  sen- 
tences, can  demonstrate  the  scope  of  an  argument.  If 
what  I  have  written  be  true,  it  is  no  crime,  unless  truth 
be  made  a  crime.  If  false,  let  Dr.  Calamy  or  any  of  the 
guides  of  your  church  confute  me,  as  he  promised  in  his 
sermon  aforesaid,  by  good  Scripture  and  good  reason  ; 
then  will  I  submit.  If  the  latter  method  be  not  taken, 
I  must  repeat  it,  'tis  very  hard,  my  lord,  'tis  very  hard." 

No  doubt  it  was  "  hard,  very  hard."  But  Jeflreys  was 
on  the  bench  !     A  verdict  of  "  guilty"  was  recorded,  and 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  363 

the  sentence  ran  thus:  "Thomas  Delaune  fined  a  hun- 
dred marks,  and  to  be  kept  prisoner,  etc.,  and  to  find 
good  security  for  his  good  behavior  for  one  whole  year 
afterward  ;  and  that  the  said  books  and  seditious  libels  by 
him  published  shall  be  burnt  with  fire  before  the  Royal 
Exchange,  London."  , 

The  sentence  consigned  him  to  a  slow  and  painful 
martyrdom.  I  quote  Defoe  again,  who  wrote  a  recom- 
mendatory preface  to  the  seventeenth  edition  of  the 
"  Plea :" 

"  The  expensive  prosecution,  depriving  him  of  his  live- 
lihood, which  vv^as  a  grammar  school,  and  long  imprison- 
ment, had  made  him  not  only  unable  to  pay  his  fine,  but 
unable  to  subsist  himself  and  his  family. 

"  He  continued  in  close  confinement  in  the  prison  of 
Newgate  about  fifteen  months,  and  suftered  there  great 
hardships  by  extreme  poverty,  being  so  entirely  reduced 
by  this  disaster  that  he  had  no  subsistence  but  what  was 
contributed  by  such  friends  as  came  to  visit  him. 

"  His  behavior  in  this  distress  was  like  the  greatness 
of  mind  he  discovered  at  his  trial.  And  the  same  spirit 
which  appears  in  his  writings  appeared  in  his  conversa- 
tion, and  supported  him  with  invincib!e  patience  under 
the  greatest  extremities.  But  long  confinement  and  dis- 
tresses of  various  kinds  at  last  conquered  him.  He  had 
a  wife  and  two  small  children,  all  with  him  in  the  prison, 
for  they  had  no  subsistence  elsewhere.  The  closeness 
and  inconvenience  of  the  place  first  aflfected  them,  and 
all  three,  by  lingering  sorrow  and  sickness,  died  in  the 
prison.  At  last,  worn  out  with  trouble,  and  hopeless  of 
relief,  and  too  much  abandoned  by  those  who  should 
have  taken  some  other  care  of  him,  this  excellent  person 


564  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

sank  under  the  burden,  and  died  there  also  I  cannot 
refrain  saying  such  a  champion,  of  such  a  cause,  de- 
served better  usage.  And  it  was  very  hard,  such  a  man, 
such  a  Chri  -tian,  such  a  scholar,  and  on  such  an  occasion, 
should  starve  in  a  dungeon ;  and  that  the  whcle  body  of 
Dissenters  in  England,  whose  cause  he  died  for  defend- 
ing, should  not  raise  him  £.66  I3i'.  ^d.  to  save  his  life." 

"  Had  I  been  a  minister,"  said  John  Sharp,  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  church  at  Frome,  Somersetshire,  soon  after 
the  Revolution  of  1668,  "  I  would  have  taken  a  horse, 
and  rode  till  my  skin  was  off,  but  I  would  have  got  the 
money  to  pay  his  fine."  ' 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  Defoe  observes,  "  he  is  one  of 
near  eig-ht  thousand  Protestant  Dissenters  that  perished 
in  prison  in  the  days  of  that  merciful  prince.  King 
Charles  IT.,  and  that  merely  for  dissent)  ig  from  the 
church  '^»  roints  which  they  could  give  such  reasons  for 
as  this  'Plea'  assigns  ;  and  for  no  other  cause  were  stifled, 
I  had  almost  said,  murdered,  in  jails  for  their  religion." 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  James  II.,  the  Duke  of  Mon- 
mouth's rebellion  broke  out,  and  involved  great  numbers 
in  ruin.  Some  Baptists  were  compromised  in  it.  That 
was  not  to  be  wondered  at.  James  II.  was  a  Papist  and 
a  tyrant.  He  was  known  to  be  a  cold-hearted,  blood- 
thirsty man  It  was  not  believed  that  the  liberties  of 
England  would  be  safe  in  his  keeping.  Besides  this, 
5ome  of  the  insurgents  regarded  Monmouth  as  the  legiti- 
mate son  of  Charles  II.,  and  therefore  the  right  heir  to 
the  throne  ;  while  others  deemed  it  better  to  overlook  the 
stain  of  his  birth,  and  thus  secure  a  Protestant  succession, 
than  to  expose  the  kingdom  to  the  misrjle  of  a  popish 
^  Ivimey,  ii.  556, 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  365 

despot.  Had  the  enterprise  succeeded,  they  would  have 
been  applauded  as  patriots  ;  by  its  defeat,  their  names 
were  handed  down  to  posterity  as  traitors.  Numbers  of 
them  suffered  the  vengeance  of  the  Jaw,  The  brutal 
Judge  Jeffreys  presided  at  the  trials,  and  hurried  oft'  his 
victims  to  the  gibbet  by  the  shortest  process,  and  with  all 
tl:e  glee  of  a  practiced  butcher. 

The  fate  of  two  young  men  excited  unusual  commise- 
ration. Benjamin  and  Thomas  Hewling  were  grandsons 
of  William  Kiffin,  whose  daughter  their  father  had  mar- 
ried. The  father  having  died,  Mr.  Kiffin  took  charge  of 
the  family,  and  assisted  the  surviving  parent  in  giving 
them  an  excellent  education  and  training.  William  was 
at  a  seminary  in  Holland  when  the  Duke  of  Monmouth 
planned  his  ill-fixted  expedition.  He  accompanied  the 
duke  to  England.  Benjamin,  "  conversing  with  those 
that  were  under  great  dissatisfaction,  seeing  popery  en- 
couraged, and  religion  and  liberty  like  to  be  invaded,  did 
furnish  himself  with  arms,  and  went  to  the  said  duke." 
After  the  disastrous  battle  of  Sedgemoor,  the  two  brothers 
attempted  to  escape  by  sea,  but  were  driven  back  by  con- 
trary winds,  and  compelled  to  land  and  surrender  them- 
selves prisoners.  After  a  short  confinement  in  Exeter 
jail,  they  were  conveyed  to  London,  where  they  were 
lodged  in  Newgate,  and  remained  there  three  weeks, 
when  they  w^ere  sent  back  into  the  West  for  trial. 

Their  grandfather  labored  hard  to  save  them.  Every 
thing  was  venal  in  those  days.  "  It  being  given  out," 
says  Mr.  Kiffin,  "  that  the  king  would  make  only  a  few 
who  had  been  taken  examples,  and  would  leave  the  rest 
to  his  officers,  to  compound  for  their  lives,  I  attempted, 
with  my  daughter,  their  mother,  to  treat  with  a  great 
31  * 


366  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

man,  agreeing  to  give  him  three  thousand  pounds  if  he 
would  obtain  their  deliverance.  But  the  face  of  things 
was  S3on  altered,  so  that  nothing  but  severity  could  be 
expected.  Indeed,  we  missed  the  right  door,  for  the 
Lord  Chief  Justice  [Jeffreys]  finding  that  agreements 
were  made  with  others,  and  so  little  attention  paid  to 
himself,  was  the  more  provoked  to  use  all  manner  of 
cruelty  to  the  poor  prisoners ;  so  that  'few  escaped, 
and  amongst  the  rest  those  two  young  men  were  ex- 
ecuted."^ 

Their  sister  was  indefatigable  in  her  endeavors  on 
their  behalf.  When  all  other  means  had  failed,  she  de- 
termined to  present  a  petition  to  the  king.  "  For  this 
purpose  she  was  introduced  by  Lord  Churchill,  after- 
ward the  celebrated  Duke  of  Marlborough.  While  they 
waited  in  the  antechamber  for  admittance,  standing  near 
the  chimney-piece.  Lord  Churchill  assured  her  of  his  most 
hearty  wishes  of  success  to  her  petition.  '  But,  madam,' 
said  he,  '  I  dare  not  flatter  you  with  any  such  hopes,  for 
that  marble  is  as  capable  of  feeling  compassion  as  the 
king's  heart.'"* 

So  it  proved.  The  king's  heart  was  hard  as  adamant. 
The  Hewlings  were  executed — William,  at  Lyme,  Sep- 
tember 1 2th,  1685;  Benjamin,  at  Taunton,  on  the  30th 
of  the  same  month.  How  they  spent  the  last  few  days 
of  their  lives,  and  how  they  died,  has  been  admirably  told 
by  their  sister,  of  whose  narrative  I  will  give  here  a  brief 
abstract : 

"At  Salisbury,  the  30th  of  August,  I  had  the  first 
opportunity  of  conversing  with  them.  I  found  them  in 
a  very  excellent  composure  of  mind,  declaring  their  ex- 
1  Life  of  Kiffin,  p.  63.  2  Ibid.  p.  64. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  367 

perience  of  the  grace  and  goodness  of  God  to  them  in  all 
their  sufferings,  in  supporting  and  strengthening  and 
providing  for  them,  turning  the  hearts  of  all  in  whose 
hands  they  had  been  both  at  Exeter  and  on  shipboard,  to 
show  pity  and  to  favor  them  ;  although  since  they  came 
to  Newgate  they  were  hardly  used,  and  now  in  their  jour- 
ney loaded  with  heavy  irons  and  more  inhumanly  dealt 
with.  They  with  great  cheerfulness  professed  that  they 
were  better  and  in  a  more  happy  condition  than  ever  in 
their  lives,  from  the  sense  they  had  of  the  pardoning  love 
of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  to  their  souls,  wholly  referring 
themselves  to  their  wise  and  gracious  God  to  choose  for 
them  life  or  death,  expressing  themselves  thus :  '  Any 
thing  what  pleaseth  God  ;  what  he  sees  best,  so  be  it.  We 
know  he  is  able  to  deliver  ;  but  if  not,  blessed  be  his  name, 
death  is  not  terrible  now,  but  desirable.'" 

"  The  sixth  of  September,  Mr.  Benjamin  Hewling  was 
ordered  to  Taunton,  to  be  tried  there.  Taking  my  leave 
of  him,  he  said,  '  Oh,  blessed  be  God  for  afflictions !  I 
would  not  have  been  without  them  for  all  this  world.' 

"  I  remained  still  at  Dorchester,  to  wait  the  issue  of 
Mr.  William  Hewling,  to  whom,  after  trial,  I  had  free 
access,  and  whose  discourse  was  much  filled  with  admir- 
ings  of  the  grace  of  God  which  had  been  manifested 
toward  him  in  calling  him  out  of  his  natural  state.  He 
said,  God  by  his  Holy  Spirit  did  suddenly  seize  upon  his 
heart  when  he  thought  not  of  it,  in  his  retired  abode  in 
Holland,  as  it  were  secretly  whispering  in  his  heart, 
'  Seek  ye  my  face,'  enabling  him  to  answer  his  gracious 
call  and  to  reflect  upon  his  own  soul,  showing  him  the 
evil  of  sin  and  the  necessity  of  Christ,  from  that  time 
carrying  him  on  to  a  sensible  'adherence   to  Christ  for 


368  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

justification  and  eternal  life.  Hence  he  found  a  spring 
of  joy  and  sweetness  beyond  the  comforts  of  the  whole 
earth." 

"  When  I  came  to  him  the  next  morning,  when  he  had 
leceived  news  that  he  must  die  the  next  day,  and  in  order 
to  It  was  to  be  carried  to  Lyme  that  day,  I  found  him  in 
a  more  excellent,  raised,  and  spiritual  frame  than  before. 
He  was  satisfied,  he  said,  that  God  had  chosen  best  for 
him.  '  He  knows  what  the  temptations  of  life  might 
have  been.  I  might  have  lived  and  forgotten  God  ;  but 
now  I  am  going  where  I  shall  sin  no  more.  Oh,  it  is  a 
blessed  thing  to  be  freed  from  sin  and  to  be  with  Christ ! 
Oh  how  great  were  the  sufferings  of  Christ  for  me,  be- 
yond all  I  can  undergo !  How  great  is  the  glory  to 
which  I  am  going !  It  will  soon  swallow  up  all  our  suf- 
ferings here  !' 

"As  they  passed  through  the  town  of  Dorchester  to 
Lyme,  multitudes  of  people  beheld  them  with  great  la- 
mentations, admiring  his  deportment  at  his  parting  with 
his  sister.  Passing  on  the  road,  his  discourse  was  ex- 
cedingly  spiritual,  taking  occasion  from  everything  to 
speak  of  the  glory  they  were  going  to.  Looking  at  the 
country  as  he  passed,  he  said,  '  This  is  a  glorious  crea- 
tion ;  but  what  then  is  the  paradise  of  God  to  which  we 
are  going  !  It  is  but  a  few  hours,  and  we  shall  be  there, 
and  be  foi  ever  with  the  Lord.' 

"At  Lyme,  just  before  they  went  to  die,  reading  John 
xiv.  8,  he  said  to  one  of  his  fellow-sufferers,  'Here  is  a 
Bweet  promise  for  us  :  I  will  not  leave  you  conifortless ;  J 
will  come  unto  you.  Christ  will  be  with  us  to  the  last !' 
One  taking  leave  of  him,  he  said,  '  Farewell  till  we  meet 
in  heaven.      Presently  we  shall  be  Vv^th  Christ.     Oh,  I 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  369 

would  not  change  condition  with  any  one  in  the  world. 
I  would  not  stay  behind  for  ten  thousand  worlds.* 

"  Afterward  he  prayed  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
with  the  greatest  fervency,  exceedingly  olessing  God  for 
Jesus  Christ,  adoring  the  riches  of  his  grace  in  him,  in  all 
the  glorious  fruits  of  it  toward  him,  praying  for  the  peace 
of  the  church  of  God,  and  of  these  nations  in  particular ; 
all  with  such  eminent  assistance  of  the  Spirit  of  God  as 
convinced,  astonished,  and  melted  into  pity  the  hearts  of 
all  present,  even  the  most  malicious  adversaries,  forcing 
tears  and  expressions  from  them  ;  some  saying,  they  knew 
not  what  would  become  of  them  after  death,  but  it  was 
evident  he  was  going  to  great  happiness. 

"  When  just  departing  out  of  the  world,  with  a  joyful 
countenance,  he  said,  '  Oh,  now  my  joy  and  comfort  is 
that  I  have  a  Christ  to  go  to  ;'  and  so  sweetly  resigned 
his  spirit  to  Christ. 

"  An  officer  who  had  shown  so  malicious  a  spirit  as  to 
call  the  prisoners  '  devils'  when  he  was  guarding  them 
down,  was  now  so  convinced  that  he  afterward  told  a 
person  of  quality  that  he  was  never  so  affected  as  by  his 
cheerful  carriage  and  fervent  prayer,  such  as  he  believed 
was  never  heard,  especially  from  one  so  young  ;  and  said, 
'  I  believe,  had  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  beer,  here,  he 
would  not  have  let  him  die.' 

"  The  sheriff  having  given  his  body  to  be  buried, 
although  it  was  brought  from  the  place  of  execution 
without  any  notice  given,  yet  very  many  of  the  town,  to 
the  number  of  two  hundred,  came  to  accompany  him  ; 
and  several  young  women  of  the  best  of  the  town  laid 
him  in  lis  grave  in  Lyme  churchyard,  September  13th, 
1685. 


370  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

"  When  I  came  to  Taunton  to  Mr.  Bejamin  Hewling, 
he  expressed  himself  to  this  effect :  '  We  have  no  cause 
to  fear  death  if  the  pj'esence  of  God  be  with  us  ;  there  is 
no  evil  in  it,  the  sting  being  taken  away.  It  is  nothing 
but  our  ignorance  of  the  glory  the  saints  pass  into  by 
death  which  makes  it  appear  dark  to  ourselves  or  our  rela- 
tions :  if  in  Christ,  what  is  the  world  that  we  should 
desire  an  abode  in  it?  It  is  all  vain  and  unsatisfying, 
full  of  sin  and  misery.'  He  also  intimated  his  own  cheer- 
ful expectations  soon  to  follow  (  he  had  just  heard  of  his 
brother's  death),  discovering  then  and  all  along  great 
sei"iousness  and  sense  of  spiritual  and  eternal  things, 
complaining  of  nothing  in  his  present  circumstances  but 
want  of  a  place  of  retirement  to  converse  more  uninter- 
ruptedly with  God  and  his  own  soul ;  saying  that  his 
lonely  time  in  Newgate  was  the  sweetest  in  his  whole 
life.' 

"  When  there  was  a  general  report  that  no  more  should 
die,  he  said,  '  I  do  not  know  what  God  hath  done  con- 
trary to  our  expectations  ;  if  he  doth  prolong  my  life,  I 
am  sure  it  is  all  his  own,  and  by  his  grace  I  will  wholly 
devote  it  to  him.'  But  on  the  29th  of  September,  be- 
tween ten  and  eleven  at  night,  we  found  the  deceitfulness 
of  this  report,  they  being  then  told  that  they  must  die  the 
next  morning,  which  was  very  unexj^ected  as  to  the  sud- 
denness of  it.  But  herein  God  glorified  his  power,  grace, 
and  faithfulness,  in  giving  suitable  support  and  comfort 
by  his  blessed  presence,  which  appeared  upon  my  coming 
to  him  at  that  time  and  finding  him  greatly  composed. 
He  said,  '  Though  men  design  to  surprise,  God  doth 
and  will  perform  his  word,  to  be  a  very  present  help  in 
trouble.' 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  371 

"  The  next  morning,  when  I  saw  him  again,  his  cheer- 
fulness and  comfort  were  much  increased,  waiting  for 
the  sheriff  witii  the  greatest  sweetness  and  serenity  of 
mind.  .  .  .  With  a  smiling  countenance,  he  discoursed 
of  the  glory  of  heaven.  ...  His  hope  and  comfort  still 
increasing,  with  the  assurance  of  an  interest  in  that  glori- 
ous inheritance  to  the  possession  of  which  he  was  now 
going,  he  said, '  death  was  more  desirable  than  life,  and  he 
would  rather  die  than  live  any  longer  here.'  .  .  .  Then, 
reading  the  Scriptures  and  musing  with  himself,  he  inti- 
mated the  great  comfort  which  God  conveyed  to  his  soul 
in  it ;  saying,  '  Oh,  what  an  invaluable  treasure  is  this 
blessed  word  of  God.  In  all  conditions,  here  is  a  store 
of  strong  consolation.'  One  desiring  his  Bible,  he  said, 
'  No  ;  this  shall  be  my  companion  to  the  last  moment  of 
my  life.' 

"  Thus  praying  together,  reading,  meditating,  and  con- 
versing of  heavenly  things,  they  waited  for  the  sheriff, 
who,  when  he  came,  void  of  all  pity  and  civility,  hurried 
them  away,  scarcely  suffering  them  to  take  leave  of  their 
friends.  Notwithstanding  this,  and  the  doleful  mourning 
of  all  about  them,  the  joyfulness  of  his  countenance  was 
increased.  Thus  he  left  the  prison,  and  thus  he  appeared 
in  the  sledge,  where  they  sat  about  half  an  hour  before 
the  officers  could  force  the  horses  to  draw  ;  at  which  they 
were  greatly  enraged,  there  being  no  visible  obstruction 
from  weight  or  way.  At  last  the  mayor  and  sheriff 
haled  them  foi^ward  themselves,  Balaam-like,  driving  the 
horses. 

"  When  they  came  to  the  place  of  execution,  which 
was  surrounded  with  spectators,  many  that  waited  their 
coming  said,  that  when  they  saw  him   and  them   come 


372  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

with  such  cheerfulness  and  joy,  and  evidence  of  the  pre- 
sence of  God  with  them,  it  made  death  appear  with  an- 
other aspect.  They  first  embraced  each  other  with  the 
greatest  affection  ,  then  two  of  the  elder  persons  praying 
audibly,  they  joined  with  groat  seriousness.  Then  he 
[Benjamin]  required  leave  of  the  sheriff'  to  pray  particu- 
larly ;  but  he  would  not  grant  it,  and  only  asked  him 
whether  he  would  pray  for  the  king.  He  answered,  '  I 
pray  for  all  men.'  He  then  requested  that  they  might 
sing  a  hymn.  The  sheriff"  told  him  it  must  be  with  the 
rope  round  their  necks  ;  which  they  cheerfully  accepted, 
and  sung  with  such  heavenly  joy  and  sweetness  that  many 
who  were  present  said  it  both  broke  and  rejoiced  their 
hearts.  Thus  in  the  experience  of  the  delightfulness  of 
praising  God  on  earth,  he  willingly  closed  his  eyes  on  a 
vain  world,  to  pass  to  that  eternal  enjoyment. 

"  All  present  of  all  sorts  were  exceedingly  affected  and 
amazed.  Some  officers  who  had  before  insultingly  said, 
'  Surely  these  persons  have  no  thoughts  of  death,  but 
will  find  themselves  surprised  by  it,*  now  acknowledged 
that  they  saw  he  and  they  had  something  extraordinary 
within,  which  carried  them  through  with  so  much  joy. 
Others  said  that  they  were  so  convinced  of  their  happi- 
ness that  they  would  be  glad  to  change  conditions  with 
them.  The  soldiers  in  general,  and  all  others,  lamented 
exceedingly,  saying, '  It  was  so  sad  a  thing  to  see  them  so 
cut  08"  that  they  scarcely  knew  how  to  bear  it.'  Some 
of  the  most  malicious  in  the  place,  from  whom  nothing 
but  railing  was  expected,  said,  as  they  were  carried  to 
their  grave  in  Taunton  church,  '  These  persons  have  left 
sufficient  evidence  that  they  are  now  glorified  spirits  in 
heaven.'     A  great  officer  also  in  the  king's  army  has  often 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  373 

been  heard  to  say,  '  If  you  would  learn  to  die,  go  to  the 
young  men  of  Taunton.'"' 

The  execution  of  Mrs.  Gaunt  was  another  horrible 
affair.  It  is  one  of  the  blackest  in  the  catalogue  of  crimes 
v/ith  which  James  II.  stands  charged  in  history. 

Elizabeth  Gaunt  was  a  Baptist  lady,  resident  in  Lon- 
don. Her  life  was  a  series  of  charitable  acts.  She  was 
constantly  engaged  in  visiting  the  jails,  and  administer- 
ing succor,  according  to  her  means,  to  the  distressed  at.<i 
unfortunate.  On  the  discovery  of  the  Rye  House  plot, 
one  Burton,  who  was  deeply  implicated  in  it,  and  for 
whose  apprehension  a  reward  of  100/.  was  offered,  found 
shelter  in  her  house.  She  assisted  him  to  escape  to  Hol- 
land, where  he  lived  some  months.  He  returned  to 
England  with  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  and  was  at  the 
battle  of  Sedgemoor.  After  wandering  about  some  time 
he  obtained  concealment  in  the  house  of  John  Fernley, 
a  barber,  in  Whitechapel,  London.  Fernley  was  a  poor 
man,  but  though  he  knew  of  the  reward  that  had  been 
offered  for  Burton's  apprehension,  he  would  not  betray 
him.  Much  as  he  wanted  money,  his  honor  was  not  to 
be  sold.  That  noble  feeling  cost  him  his  life.  The 
wretch  Burton  learned  that  the  king  was  peculiarly  exas- 
perated against  those  who  harbored  traitors.  He  in- 
formed against  both  his  protectors.  They  were  brought 
to  trial  and  convicted.  Fernley  was  hanged,  Mrs.  Gaunt 
was  burned  alive,  that  being  then  the  punishment  of 
females  for  this  offence.  The  only  witnesses  against 
her  were  the  villain  Burton  and  her  own  maid-servant ; 
but  the  girl  was  ignorant  of  Burton's  character  and  posi- 
tion, and  could  only  testify  to  the  concealment,  so  that 

*  Life  of  Kiffin,  pp.  66-78. 


374  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

the  law's  demand,  requiring  two  witnesses,  was  not 
satisfied.  But  the  judge  who  presided  at  the  trial  over- 
ruled the  exception  taken  on  this  account,  and  a  verdict 
of  "  guilty"  was  brought  in,  in  opposition  to  right.  The 
g  )od  woman  suffered  the  terrible  punishment  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  excite  strong  sympathy  in  her  favor.  Bishop 
Burnet  saj-s,  "  She  died  with  a  constancy,  even  to  cheer- 
fulness, that  struck  all  who  saw  it.  She  said  charity  was 
a  part  of  her  religion  as  well  as  faith  ;  this  at  worst  was 
feeding  an  enemy.  So  she  hoped  she  had  reward  with 
Him  for  whose  sake  she  did  this  service,  how  unworthy 
soever  the  person  was  who  made  so  ill  a  return  for  it. 
She  rejoiced  that  God  had  honored  her  to  be  the  first 
that  suffered  by  fire  in  this  reign,  and  that  her  suffering 
was  a  martyrdom  for  that  religion  which  was  all  love. 
Penn  the  Qiiaker  told  me  that  he  saw  her  die.  She  laid 
the  straw  about  her  for  burning  her  speedily,  and  be- 
haved in  such  a  manner  that  all  the  spectators  melted  in 
tears."  * 

This  execution  took  place  October  23d,  1685.  When 
she  left  the  prison  for  the  place  of  burning,  Mrs.  Gaunt 
gave  a  paper  to  the  keeper  of  Newgate,  from  which  I  ex- 
tract the  following  paragraphs : 

"  Let  none  think  hard  or  be  discouraged  at  what  hath 
happened  unto  me  ;  for  He  doth  nothing  without  cause  in 
all  that  he  hath  done  unto  me  ;  he  being  holy  in  all  h':s 
ways  and  righteous  in  all  his  works ;  and  it  is  but  my  lot 
in  common  with  poor  desolate  Zion  at  this  day.  Neither 
do  I  find  in  m)'  heart  the  least  regret  for  anything  I  have 
done  in  the  service  of  my  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ, 
in  securing  and  succoring  any  of  his  poor  sufferers  that 

1  History  of  his  Own  Times,  iii.  62. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  '  375 

have  showed  favor,  as  I  thought,  to  his  righteous  cause ; 
which  cause,  though  it  be  now  fallen  and  trampled  on, 
yet  it  may  revive,  and  God  may  plead  it  at  another  time 
more  than  ever  he  hath  yet  done,  with  all  its  opposers 
and  malicious  haters.  And  I  desire  to  bless  his  holy 
name  that  he  hath  made  me  useful  in  my  generation,  to 
the  comfort  and  relief  of  many  desolate  ones ;  that  the 
blessing  of  many  who  were  ready  to  perish  hath  come 
unto  me,  and  I  have  helped  to  make  the  widow's  heart 
leap  for  joy.  And  I  bless  his  holy  name  that  in  all  this, 
together  with  what  I  was  charged  with,  I  can  approve 
my  heart  to  him,  that  I  have  done  his  will,  though  it  doth 
cross  man's." 

Having  mentioned  several  persons  engaged  in  the 
prosecution,  whose  malice  and  cruelty  had  aggravated 
her  sufferings,  she  proceeds  :  "  All  which,  together  with 
the  great  one  of  all  [James  II.],  by  whose  power  all 
these  and  multitudes  more  of  cruelties  are  done,  I  do 
heartily  and  freely  forgive,  as  against  me  ;  but  as  it  is 
done  in  an  implacable  mind  against  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  righteous  cause  and  followers,  I  leave  it 
to  him  who  is  the  avenger  of  all  such  wrong,  and  zu/zo 
ivill  tread  upon  princes  as  upon  mortar^  afid  be  ter- 
rible to  the  kings  of  the  earth."  ' 

The  darkest  time  in  the  history  of  the  Dissenters  dur- 
ing this  period  was  the  interval  between  the  autumn  of 
1685  and  the  summer  of  1686.  Macaulay  says  :  "  Never, 
not  even  under  the  tyranny  of  Laud,  had  the  condition 
of  the  Puritans  been  so  deplorable  as  at  that  time.  Never 
had  spies  been  so  actively  employed  in  detecting  congre- 
gations. Never  had  magistrates,  grand  juries,  rectors, 
'  Ivimey,  i.  456-458. 


376'  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

and  churchwardens  been  so  much  on  the  alert.  Many 
Dissenters  were  cited  before  the  ecclesiastical  courts. 
Others  found  it  necessary  to  purchase  the  connivance  of 
the  agents  of  the  government  by  presents  of  hogsheads  of 
wine  and  of  gloves  stuffed  with  guineas.  It  was  impos- 
sible for  the  sectaries  to  pray  together  without  precautions 
such  as  are  employed  by  coiners  and  receivers  of  stolen 
goods.  The  places  of  meeting  were  frequently  changed. 
Worship  was  performed  sometimes  just  before  break  of 
day  and  sometimes  at  dead  of  night.  Round  the  build- 
ing where  the  little  flock  was  gathering  together,  senti- 
nels were  posted  to  give  the  alarm  if  a  stranger  drew 
near.  The  minister  in  disguise  was  introduced  through 
the  garden  and  back-yard.  In  some  houses  there  were 
trap-doors,  through  which,  in  case  of  danger,  he  might 
descend.  Where  Nonconformists  lived  next  door  to  each 
other,  the  walls  were  often  broken  open,  and  secret  pas- 
sages were  made  from  dwelling  to  dwelling.  No  psalm 
was  sung ;  and  many  contrivances  were  used  to  prevent 
the  voice  of  the  preacher,  in  his  moments  of  fervor,  from 
being  heard  beyond  the  walls.  Yet,  with  all  this  care,  it 
was  often  found  impossible  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  in- 
formers. In  the  suburbs  of  London,  especially,  the  law 
was  enforced  with  the  utmost  rigor.  Several  opulent 
gentlemen  were  accused  of  holding  conventicles.  Their 
houses  wei'e  strictly  searched,  and  distresses  were  levied 
to  the  amount  of  many  thousands  of  pounds.  .  .  .  Dis- 
senting ministers,  however  blameless  in  life,  however 
eminent  for  learning  and  abilities,  could  not  venture  to 
walk  the  streets  for  fear  of  outrages,  which  were  not  only 
not  repressed,  but  encouraged,  by  those  whose  duty  it 
was  to  preserve  the  peace.     Some  divines  of  great  fame 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  2)11 

were  in  prison.  Among  these  was  Richard  Baxter. 
Others,  who  had,  during  a  quarter  of  a  century,  borne  up 
against  oppression,  now  lost  heart,  and  quitted  the  king- 
dom.    Among  these  was  John  Howe."  ^ 

Then  the  king  suddenly  changed  his  policy.  Assum- 
ing power  to  suspend  the  laws  by  the  exercise  of  the 
royal  prerogative,  he  first  caused  licenses  to  be  issued, 
which  protected  the  parties  holding  them  from  all  perse- 
cuting annoyances,  and  permitted  them  to  reoccupy  their 
places  of  worship  ;  and  this  was  followed  in  April,  1687, 
by  the  celebrated  "  Declai'ation  of  Indulgence,"  removing, 
during  his  majesty's  pleasure,  all  restraints  on  Noncon- 
formity, whether  Protestant  or  Popish.  The  design  of 
these  acts  was  the  establishment  of  popery,  but  it  was 
cloaked  by  a  pretended  regard  for  liberty  of  conscience. 

Some  few  of  the  Baptists  were  induced  to  join  m  an 
address  to  the  king,  thanking  him  for  this  unlooked-for 
freedom.  The  majority,  however,  viewed  his  proceedings 
as  altogether  unconstitutional,  and  would  not  compromise 
themselves  by  taking  any  step  which  might  be  construed 
as  an  admission  of  their  legality.  While  they  availed 
themselves  of  the  newly-acquired  liberty,  they  regarded 
it  as  the  restoration  of  a  right  of  which  they  had  been 
unjustly  deprived,  and  not  as  the  bestowment  of  a  boon. 

Hoping  thereby  to  gain  assistance  in  carrying  into 
effect  his  ulterior  purposes,  James  II.  courted  the  Dis- 
senters. Among  them  was  William  Kifiin.  The  king 
had  taken  away  the  charter  of  the  city  of  London,  and 
undertaken  to  remodel  the  government  of  the  city  by 
arbitrary  appointments  of  his  own.  "  Kifiin.  says  Noble, 
in  his  Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Cro7muen^  "  was  per- 
'  History  of  England,  vol.  i.  chap.  v. 
32* 


378  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

sonally  known  both  to  Charles  and  James ;  and  when 
the  latter  of  these  princes,  after  having  arbitrarily  de- 
prived the  city  of  the  old  charters,  determined  to  put 
many  of  the  Dissenters  into  the  magistracy,  under  the 
rose  he  sent  for  Kiffin  to  attend  him  at  Court.  When  he 
went  thither  in  obedience  to  the  king's  commandment, 
he  found  many  lords  and  gentlemen.  The  king  imme- 
diately came  up  to  him,  and  addressed  him  with  all  the 
little  grace  he  was  master  of.  He  talked  of  his  favor  to 
the  Dissenters  in  the  court  style  of  this  season,  and  con- 
cluded by  telling  Kiffin  that  he  had  put  him  down  as  an 
alderman  in  his  new  charter.  '  Sire,'  replied  Kiffin,  '  I 
am  a  very  old  man,  and  have  withdrawn  myself  from  all 
kind  of  business  for  some  years  past,  and  am  incapable 
of  doing  any  service  in  such  an  affair  to  your  majesty  in 
the  city.  Besides,  Sire,'  the  old  man  went  on,  fixing  his 
eyes  steadfastly  on  the  king,  while  the  tears  ran  down  his 
cheeks,  '  the  death  of  my  grandsons  gave  a  wound  to  my 
heart  which  is  still  bleeding,  and  will  never  close  but  in 
the  grave.'  The  king  was  deeply  struck  by  the  manner, 
the  freedom,  and  the  spirit  of  this  unexpected  rebuke. 
A  total  silence  ensued,  while  the  galled  countenance  of 
James  seemed  to  shinnk  from  the  horrid  remembrance.  In 
a  minute  or  two,  however,  he  recovered  hiriself  enough 
to  say,  'Mr.  Kiffin,  I  shall  find  a  balsam  fcr  that  sore,' 
and  he  immediately  turned  about  to  a  lord  in  waiting."^ 
Every  one  knows  what  followed.  The  English  were 
not  to  be  cajoled.  They  had  no  taste  for  Popery  and  ar- 
bitrary power.  The  deliverer  came.  The  tyrant  fled. 
The  persecution  ceased.  Thanks  be  to  God  for  the  Rev- 
olution of  1688 ! 

1  Vol.ii.  p.  463, 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Principles  and  Practices  of  the  Denomination — Human  Tradition  Re. 
nounced — Freedom  of  Conscience  Demanded — Personal  Piety  requi- 
site  to  Church  Fellowship — Purity  of  Discipline — Cases  Cited — Mode 
of  Public  Worship  —  Plurality  of  Elders — Communion — Singing — 
Laying  on  of  Hands — The  Lord's  Day. 

HAVING  thus  brought  down  the  history  of  the  Eng- 
lish Baptists  to  the  end  of  the  "  troublous"  period, 
I  will  close  this  portion  of  the  narrative  by  a  few  observa- 
tions on  the  character  and  state  of  the  denomination,  and 
some  biographical  notices  of  the  principal  ministers. 

The  distinguishing  principle  of  the  Baptists  was  clearly 
discerned  by  our  British  forefathers,  and  consistently 
maintained.  They  owned  no  master  but  Christ,  no  rule 
but  his  word.  Hence  they  were  ranked  among  Protest- 
ants. When  Protestants  required  su'bmission  to  human 
forms,  whether  the  Common  Prayer  Book  or  the  Di- 
rectory, they  separated  themselves  and  became  Dissent- 
ers. Differing  from  other  Dissenters  on  some  important 
points,  they  separated  themselves  again,  following  the 
light  of  the  word,  and  endeavoring  to  render  strict  obedi- 
ence to  all  the  Lord's  injunctions.  They  acknowledged 
no  authority  in  any  "  traditions  of  the  elders."  They  ab- 
horred all  "  will- worship." 

579 


380  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

They  claimed  the  right  to  profess  what  they  believed, 
and  to  red  .ice  their  faith  to  practice,  and  they  demanded 
that  all  others  should  be  allowed  to  exercise  the  same 
right ;  for  religious  freedom,  in  its  broadest  sense,  was 
regarded  by  them  as  the  inalienable  patrimony  of  all 
mankind.  No  exceptions  wei"e  made.  The  magistrate 
was  bound,  in  their  judgment,  to  protect  all,  and  to  in- 
terfere with  none,  however  foolish,  superstitious,  or  peril- 
ous to  souls  their  opinions  might  be  deemed,  as  long  as 
they  obeyed  the  laws  in  things  civil,  and  refrained  from 
disturbing  the  peace  of  society.  As  I  have  before  re- 
marked, they  v^ere  in  this  respect  far  in  advance  of  other 
religious  communities,  the  Friends  excepted  ;  and  they 
had  published  their  sentiments  before  the  Friends  were 
known. 

Closely  allied  to  these  views  was  their  requirement  of 
true  piety  as  an  indispensable  prerequisite  to  church 
membership.  Whenever  infant  baptism  is  an  introduc- 
tion, directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  fellowship  of  the 
church,  the  process  of  corruption  is  at  work.  In  national 
establishments  it  is  unavoidable.  No  such  communi- 
ties can  be  pure.  But  Baptists  have  always  maintained 
that  religious  character  is  essential  to  union  with  a 
Christian  church.  The  measures  they  adopt,  in  accord 
ance  with  New  Testament  precepts  and  precedents, 
afford  the  best  guarantee  for  purity.  They  open  the 
doors  to  the  godly — all  besides  are  excluded.  If  they  are 
sometimes  mistaken  in  their  judgments — if,  now  and 
then,  a  fanatic  or  a  hypocrite  creeps  in  undetected — they 
are  reminded  that  even  in  apostolic  times  such  cases  oc- 
curred, and  they  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to  expel  the 
intruder. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  381 

The  discipline  of  the  English  Baptist  churches  was  in 
harmony  with  their  doctrines.  It  was  a  commentary  on 
2  Cor.  vi.  17.  As  they  would  not  admit  any  to  fellowship, 
knowingly,  who  did  not  appear  to  be  the  subjects  of  re- 
generating g'.'ace,  so  they  placed  members  under  censure, 
or  excluded  them,  for  immorality  or  any  unscriptural  or 
disorderly  conduct,  without  respect  of  persons.  I  will 
adduce  a  few  examples  illustrative  of  their  care  In  this 
matter. 

The  Broadmead  Church  would  not  admit  Mrs.  Bevis 
to  fellowship,  "  by  reason  of  her  selling  of  drink,  and 
some  defects  in  her  conversation  about  her  husband's 
debts  that  he  had  contracted."  The  same  church  has  this 
record  of  "  Sister  Watkins  :"  "  Tidings  came  to  the  ears 
of  the  church  that  she  walked  disorderly  and  scandal- 
ously in  the  borrowing  of  money,  up  and  down,  of  many 
peisons — of  some  ten  shillings,  of  some  twenty  shillings, 
of  some  more,  some  less,  as  she  could  get  them  to  lend — 
and  took  no  care  to  pay  it  again,  promising  people  and 
not  performing,  spending  much  if  not  most  of  her  time 
going  up  and  down  ;  and  so  did  not  work,  or  but  little,  to 
endeavor  honestly  to  live  and  eat  her  own  bread.  And 
thus,  she  walking  disorderly  and  scandalously  in  borrow- 
ing, contrary  to  the  rule  (2  Thess.  iii.  6,  10-12),  the 
church,  after  her  crime  was  declared,  and  proved  to  her 
face  b}  divers  in  the  church,  and  that  they  had  heard  she 
had  so  served  some  not  of  the  congregation,  they  con- 
sented all  universally  to  withdraw  from  her.  Then  the 
ruling  elder.  Brother  Terrill,  declared  to  her,  before  the 
church,  how  that  for  her  so  sinning  against  the  Lord,  she 
rendered  herself  among  the  wicked  ones,  as  Psalm  xxxvii. 
21  ;    and,  therefore,  the   church,  in   faithfulness   to   the 


SSa  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

Lord  and  to  her  soul,  must  withdraw  from  her,  seeing 
she  had  by  several  of  the  members  been  admonished 
once  and  again,  and  by  several  together  witnessing 
against  her  evil  in  so  doing ;  yet  she  had  lately  done  the 
like,  so  that  there  was  a  necessity  upon  them  to  do  their 
duly.  And  also  acquainted  her  that  if  the  Lord  should 
hereafter  give  her  repentance  of  the  evil  that  she  should 
reform  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  congregation,  they  should 
be  willing  to  receive  her  into  full  communion  again. 
And  then  the  sentence,  by  the  said  ruling  elder,  was 
passed  upon  her,  viz. :  That  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  authority  he  had  given  to  the 
church,  we  did  declare,  that  Sister  Watkins,  for  her  sin 
of  disorderly  walking,  borrowing  and  not  paying,  making 
promises  and  not  performing,  and  not  diligently  working, 
was  withdrawn  from,  and  no  longer  to  have  full  com- 
munion with  this  church,  nor  to  be  partaker  with  them 
in  the  holy  mysteries  of  the  Lord's  supper,  nor  privileges 
of  the  Lord's  house  [that  is,  'if  she  doth  come  to  the 
meeting,  not  to  be  suffered  to  stay  when  any  business  of 
the  church  is  transacted']  ;  and  the  Lord  have  mercy  upon 
her  soul."^ 

The  Fenstanton  Church  made  an  order,  "  that  if  any 
members  of  the  congregation  shall  absent  themselves 
from  the  assembly  of  the  same  congregation  upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  without  manifesting  a  sufficient 
cause,  they  shall  be  looked  upon  as  offenders  ai.d  be  pro- 
ceeded against  accordingly  ;"  and  "  it  was  desired  that  if 
any  member  should  at  any  time  have  any  extraordinary 
occasion  to  hinder  them  from  the  assembly,  that  they 
would  certify  the  congregation  of  the  same  beforehand, 
1  Broadviead  Records,  pp.  211,  413. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  383 

for  the  prevention  of  jealousies,  etc."  Several  members 
were  excluded  by  the  same  church,  at  different  times, 
for  marrying  irreligious  persons,  or  such  as  were  not 
"  members  of  the  congregation."  Joan  Parker  was  ex- 
communicated for  "  absenting  from  the  assembly  of  the 
congregation,"  for  "  running  from  her  service,  without 
the  consent  either  of  her  master  or  dame,  and  letting 
herself  to  another  man,"  and  for  "contempting  all  re- 
proof." John  Blows,  a  preacher,  was  not  only  absent  on 
a  day  appointed  for  fasting  and  prayer,  but  was  that  day 
"  at  a  great  foot-ball  play,  he  being  one  of  the  principal 
appointers  thereof."  Being  called  to  account  for  it,  he 
was  at  first  disposed  to  justify  himself,  but  at  length 
confessed  that  he  had  been  wrong,  and  "  promised  to 
abstain  from  the  like  for  time  to  come."  Nevertheless, 
as  he  had  "dishonored  the  Lord,"  "grieved  the  people 
of  God,"  and  "  given  occasion  to  the  adversary  to  speak 
reproachfully,"  it  was  resolved  that  "  he  should  not  be 
suffered  to  preach  until  further  fruits  meet  for  repentance 
did  appear."^ 

The  church  at  Warboys  withdrew  from  Mary  Poulter, 
"  for  forsaking  the  assembling  with  the  church  and 
neglecting  holy  duties,  and  walking  disorderly  in  pride 
and  vanity ;"  and  from  John  Christmas,  "  for  not  loving 
Ann  his  wife  as  he  ought,  and  for  speaking  hateful  and 
despising  words  against  her,  giving  her  occasion  to  de- 
part from  him  by  his  unkindness."  But  "John  Christ- 
mas, afterward  sending  for  Ann  his  wife  again  and  prom- 
ising amendmer  t,  after  her  coming  again  to  him, 
desired  to  be  a  partaker  with  the  church,  in  holy  duties, 
yas  joined  in  fellowship  again,"  "Mary  Drage,  fot 
•  Fenstant07i  Records,  pp.  126,  169,  244. 


584  P APT  I  ST  HISTORY. 

sundry  times  dissembling  with  the  church,  and  out  of 
covelousness  speaking  things  very  untrue,  at  length  it 
being  plainly  proved  against  her  in  her  hearing,  and  she 
r-aving  little  to  say  foi-  herself,  was  withdrawn  from." 
'*  Thomas  Bass,  for  telling  of  lies  and  swearing,  was 
withdrawn  from."  "  Ellen  Burges,  for  lying  and  slan- 
dering of  her  relations,  and  counting  them  and  her 
mother  witches,  whicn  we  have  no  ground  to  believe, 
was  withdrawn  from."^ 

The  chur'^h  at  St.  Alban's  withdrew  from  '•  Brother 
Osman,"  because  one  day  in  harvest-tiine  "  he  did  ver)' 
shamefully  with  others  betray  his  trust,  and  left  his 
work,  his  master  not  being  there,  and  went  to  an  ale- 
house, where  he  spent  most  part  of  the  day  sinning 
against  God,  and  spending  his  money,  which  should 
relieve  his  family,  unto  excessive  drinking."  A  few 
months  afterward  he  "  did,  in  the  presence  of  the  con- 
gregation, lublicly  declare  his  fall,  acknowledge  his  sin, 
and  manil.  t  great  trouble  for  the  same.  The  church 
gladly  embraced  him  again,  believing  that  God  had 
given  him  repentance  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
truth;  he  was  admitted  to  his  membership."  "Sister 
Searly  was  by  the  church  accused  as  to  matter  of  fact. 
In  the  first  place,  she,  selling  strong  water,  let  a  person 
drink  to  excess ;  and,  secondly,  did  give  herself  in  mar- 
riage to  a  wicked  drunkard,  contrary  to  the  rule  of  our 
Lord,  who  saith,  '  Let  her  marry  tc  whom  she  will,  only 
ir  the  Lord.'  Thirdly,  and  was  married  in  the  national 
w  iy  with  common  prayer,  with  all  the  Romish  ceremonies 
t^c  t.  All  these  things  being  considered,  the  church  did 
'  Fensbmton  Records,  pp.  274,  278. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  385 

think  A  their  duty  to  withdraw  their  communion,  and  yet 
she  lieth  under  admonition.'" 

Their  religious  sei-vices  were  simple.  When  the 
pastor  was  present,  he  preached  ;  but  in  the  times  now 
under  review  he  was  often  in  jail,  or  was  compelled  to 
hide  himself  from  the  pursuers.  Then,  prayer  and  exhor- 
tation occupied  the  time  ;  any  brother  who  felt  disposed 
was  at  liberty  to  exhort.  Generally,  however,  there  was 
a  sermon  by  a  ruling  elder  or  some  gifted  brother. 
Singing  was  not  commonly  practiced  :  many  of  the  Bap- 
tists refused  to  join  in  that  part  of  worship.  In  some  of 
the  churches  the  Lord's  supper  was  observed  weekly,  or 
whenever  they  could  meet  unmolested  on  the  Lord's 
Day  ;  in  most  the  monthly  observance  prevailed. 

There  was  a  plurality  of  elders  in  many  of  the  churches. 
As  numbers  increased,  they  judged  it  conducive  to  profit 
to  increase  the  number  of  teachers,  and  thus  avoid  the 
inconvenience  and  loss  which  must  accrue  from  placing 
a  large  church  imder  the  care  of  a  single  pastor.  Prob- 
ably there  were  not  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty 
churches  in  England  during  this  period,  and  many  of 
them  were  small.  But  there  were  two  or  more  pastois 
at  Bedford,  at  Luton,  at  Farringdon,  at  St.  Alban's,  at 
Portsmouth,  at  Bessel's  Green,  at  Ashford  [four]  ;  at 
Glazier's  Hall,  Devonshire  Square,  and  Mile  End  Green, 
London  ;  at  Norwich,  at  Hooknorton,  at  Bridgewater,  at 
Bristol,  and  doubtless  at  other  places.  This  shows  a 
very  commendable  care  for  the  spiritual  interests  of  the 
churches. 

In  some  of  the  churches  there  were  "  ruling  elders," 
sometimes  called  "  teachers,"  who  preached  when  theii 
*  Ivimey,  ii.  177. 
33 


386  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

services  were  required,  and  presided  at  the  church  meet- 
ings in  the  absence  of  the  pastor.  In  the  Broadmead 
Church,  Thomas  Jennings,  who  appears  to  have  been  an 
ordained  minister,  was  the  "usual  administrator"  of 
baptism ;  but  any  preacher,  ordained  or  not,  might 
baptize. 

Strict  communion  was  practiced  in  the  majority  of  the 
churches,  none  but  baptized  believers  being  admitted  to 
the  Lord's  table.  In  some,  however,  the  want  of  bap- 
tism was  not  regarded  as  a  bar  to  fellowship,  so  that  there 
was  satisfactory  evidence  of  piety.  The  Broadmead 
Church,  the  churches  at  Bedford,  Luton,  Gamlingay, 
Hitchen,  Tottlebank,  and  many  in  Wales — especially 
those  founded  by  Vavasor  Powell — were  so  constituted. 

Under  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Protectorate,  the 
freedom  which  was  enjoyed  was  improved  by  the  churches. 
Itinerating  excursions  were  frequently  made  by  accept- 
able preachers,  whose  aim  was  not  so  much  to  proselytize 
men  to  their  sect  as  to  convert  them  to  God.  Great  num- 
bers were  converted  by  their  instrumentality.  And  the 
stated  labors  of  many  of  the  pastors  were  extensively 
blessed.     The  good  work  prospered  in  those  days. 

Fi-eedom  implies  the  right  to  differ.  We  must  not  be 
surprised  at  the  lack  of  uniformity  among  our  ancestors. 
There  were  controversies  among  them,  which  were  not 
always  carried  on  with  courtesy  and  forbearance  ;  those 
qualities  were  but  little  valued  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  greatest  virulence  was  displayed  in  the  disputes 
about  doctrines.  The  advocates  of  Arminianism  con- 
tended with  the  Calvinists.  The  former  charged  the 
latter  with  uncharitableness,  and  were  in  their  turn  ac- 
cused  of  latitudinarianism.     Each   looked  on  the  other 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  387 

with  a  jaundiced  eye.  Tliis  controversy  has  ceased  to 
rage.  There  have  been  tacit  concessions  on  both  sides, 
or,  at  least,  an  abandonment  of  certain  extreme  views — 
perhaps  it  vv^ould  be  better  to  say,  incautious  expressions. 

The  question  of  communion  vv^as  another  cause  of 
agitation.  Bunyan's  gentle  temper  was  sadly  ruffled  by 
it.  His  zeal  for  open  communion  led  him  to  speak  in 
such  disparaging  terms  of  "water  baptism"  as  no  other 
writer  of  our  denomination  in  that  age  would  have  ven- 
tured to  employ.  He  was  ably  answered  by  D'Anvers 
and  Kiffin. 

Singing  in  worship  was  another  subject  of  dispute. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear  to  us,  many  good  men  refused 
to  join  in  it  or  allow  it.  Benjamin  Keach  had  great 
difficulty  in  introducing  the  practice  in  the  church  under 
his  care.  He  wrote  a  book  in  defence  of  his  views,  en- 
titled. The  Breach  repaired  in  God's  Worship;  or. 
Singing  of  Psalms,  Hymns,  and  Spiritual  Songs 
proved  to  be  a  Holy  Ordinance  of  fesus  Christ. 
Ivimey  observes,  that,  "  in  the  present  day,  when  this 
practice  is  universal,  it  will  appear  unaccountable  that 
our  forefathers  should  require  arguments  ii  prove  the  fol- 
lowing particulars,  viz. :  What  it  is  to  sing ;  that  there 
can  be  no  proper  singing  without  the  voice  ;  'tis  not  sim- 
ple heart-joy,  or  inward  rejoicing  without  the  voice  ;  no 
metaphorical  singing  mentioned  in  Scripture  ;  no  mental 
singing,  as  there  is  no  mental  praying ;  the  essence  of 
singing  no  more  in  the  heart  or  spirit  than  the  essence  of 
preaching,  etc.  ;  singing  is  a  musical  modulation  or  tun- 
ing of  the  voice,  etc.,  etc. — with  a  number  of  other  par- 
ticulars equally  curious,  and,  to  us,  self-evident.  Crosby 
says :  '  Though  he  had  very  great   success  in  this  con- 


388  BAPTIST  HI  STORY, 

troversy,  yet  it  brought  upon  him  much  trouble  and  ill- 
"will.  When  he  was  convinced  that  singing  the  praises 
of  God  was  a  holy  ordinance  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  labored 
earnestly  and  with  a  great  deal  of  prudence  and  caution 
to  convince  his  people  thereof;  and  first  obtained  their 
consent  to  the  practice  of  it  at  the  conclusion  of  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  had  but  two  of  the  breth- 
ren in  the  church  who  opposed  him  therein.  After  his 
church  had  continued  in  this  practice  about  six  years, 
they  further  consented  to  practice  the  same  on  public 
thanksgiving  days,  and  continued  therein  about  fourteen 
years ;  and  then,  by  a  regular  act  of  the  church,  in  a 
solemn  manner,  agreed  to  sing  the  praises  of  God  on  every 
Lord's  Day,  excepting  about  five  or  six  persons  that  dis- 
sented therefrom  :  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  this  was 
the  first  church  that  thus  practiced  this  holy  ordinance. 
But,  so  far  was  Mr.  Keach,  or  the  church,  from  Imposing 
on  the  consciences  of  those  few  that  dissented  (though 
the  church  then  consisted  of  some  hundreds)  that  they 
agreed  to  sing  when  prayer  was  concluded  after  the  ser- 
mon ;  and  if  those  few  who  were  not  satisfied  could  not 
stay  the  time  of  singing,  they  might  freely  go  out,  and 
the  church  would  not  be  offended  at  them  ;  for  they  did 
♦lot  look  upon  singing  the  praises  of  God  as  an  essential 
of  communion,  nor  for  the  beings  but  for  the  comfoi't  and 
we//-being  of  a  church.'  Notwithstanding  this  cai-e  and 
consideration,  however,  the  malcontents  would  not  yield. 
They  withdi'ew,  and  founded  another  church,  upon  the 
same  principles,  singing  only  excepted;  so  difficult  was 
it  to  remove  long-standing  prejudices."  ^ 

Laying  on  of  hands  after  baptism  was  practiced  by 
1  History,  ii.  298-301. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  389 

some,  but  strongly  objected  to  by  others ;  and  sometimes 
churches  differing  from  each  other  on  this  subject  refused 
intercommunion.  In  a  Confession  of  Faith  prepared  by 
the  General  Baptists,  and  presented  to  Charles  II.  in 
1660,  the  following  is  the  twelfth  article  :  "  That  it  is  the 
duty  of  all  such  who  are  believers  baptized  to  draw  nigh 
unto  God  in  submission  to  that  principle  of  Christ's  doc- 
trine, to  wit,  prayer  and  laying  on  of  hands,  that  they 
may  receive  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Heb.  vi.  i, 
2  ;  Acts  viii.  12,  15,  17  ;  2  Tim.  i.  6),  whereby  they  may 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body  (Rom.  viii.  13),  and  live 
in  all  things  answerable  to  their  professed  intentions  and 
desires,  even  to  the  honor  of  him  who  hath  called  them 
out  of  darkness  into  his  marvelous  light."  ^  Thomas 
Grantham,  a  celebrated  minister  in  that  connection,  thus 
explains  it :  "  That  as  God  has  promised  to  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  all  that  are  called  of  the  Lord,  so  he  hath  ap- 
pointed a  solemn  way  wherein  his  servants  and  hand- 
maids are  to  wait  upon  him  for  the  reception  thereof, 
which  way  is  the  prayers  of  the  church  performed  by  her 
ministers  or  pastors  with  laying  on  of  hands,  and  this, 
as  a  principle  of  Christ's  doctrine,  belonging  to  them  in 
the  minority  of  their  Christian  state."  ^  The  practice  was 
first  introduced  about  the  year  1645. 

Some  few  believed  in  the  perpetuity  of  the  Jewish  sa-o- 
bath  ;  but  the  majority  observed  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
in  common  with  Christendom  in  general. 

Here  and  there,  a  church  observed  the  washing  of  feet, 
and  had  a  love-feast  before  the  Lord's  supper. 

But,  though  in  these  and  some  other  points  the  English 
Baptists  were  not  altogether  agreed  among  themselves,  in 
>  Confessions  of  Faith,  etc.,  p.  1 13.         "^  Fenstanton  Records,  p.  157. 
33* 


39°  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

one  thing  there  was  entire  union.  They  were  of  one 
mind  in  resisting  Antichristianism,  even  "unto  blood." 
They  were  united  in  pleading  for  the  rights  of  conscience, 
and  they  shrank  not  from  suffering.  They  could  not  all 
subscribe  the  same  confession,  nor  take  part  in  the  same 
ceremonies  ;  but  they  were  "  of  one  heart  and  one  soul " 
in  readiness  to  "endure  all  things"  for  the  truth's  sake. 
The  plunderings  and  imprisonments  they  suffered  were 
frightful,  and  will  never  be  fully  known  on  earth.  Some 
of  their  ministers  were  very  cruelly  dealt  with.  Francis 
Bampfield  was  eight  years  in  Dorchester  jail,  and  spent 
the  last  year  of  his  life  in  Newgate,  where  he  died.  John 
Miller  was  confined  ten  years  in  the  same  jail.  Henry 
Forty  was  twelve  years  in  prison  at  Exeter.  John  Bun- 
yan  was  in  Bedford  jail  twelve  years.  Joseph  Wright 
lay  in  Maidstone  jail  twenty  years.  George  Fownes 
died  in  Gloucester  jail.  Thomas  Delaune,  and  many 
other  servants  of  God,  died  in  Newgate.' 

*  For  fuller  particulars   the   reader   is   referred   to    Dr.    B.    Evans' 

Early  English  Baptists, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Biographical  Notices — John  Smyth,  Thomas  Helwys,  and  John  Spils« 
bury — Henry  Denne — Francis  Cornvvell,  A.  M. — Christopher  Black* 
wood — Major-General  Harrison — Colonel  Hutchinson. 

I   WILL  now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the  prin- 
cipal   English    Baptist   worthies   of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  know  so  little  of  the 
personal  history  of  John  Smyth,  Thomas  Helwys,  and 
John  Spilsbury.  All  the  information  I  have  been  able 
to  gather  respecting  Mr.  Smyth  has  been  already  com- 
municated. I  am  not  able  to  add  much  to  the  notice  of 
Mr.  Helwys,  whose  settlement  in  London  has  been  re- 
corded in  a  former  chapter.  He  wrote  several  small 
treatises,  which  were  much  prized.  His  sentiments  on 
persecution,  and  on  the  unlawfulness  of  the  magistrate's 
interference  in  religious  affairs,  were  so  unacceptable  to 
John  Robinson,  the  celebrated  Independent  minister,  to 
whose  church  the  New  England  Pilgrims  had  belonged, 
that  he  published  a  reply,  showing  that,  though  he  and 
his  friends  suffered  so  much  from  that  interference,  they 
were  not  willing  to  give  it  up.  Mr.  Robinson  held  that 
the  magistrate  might  "  use  his  lawful  power  lawfully  for 
the  furtherance  of  Christ's  kingdom  and  laws."     He  ob- 

391 


392  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Berved  :  "  It  is  true,  they  [the  magistrates]  have  no  power 
against  the  laws,  doctrine,  and  religion  of  Christ ;  but  for 
the  same,  if  their  power  be  of  God,  they  may  use  it  law- 
fully, and  against  the  contrary." '  This  is  a  surrender  of 
the  whole  case.  Mr.  Helwys'  views,  which  were  fully 
expressed  in  Persecution  Judged  and  Condemned^  were 
far  sounder  and  more  scriptural.  Ci-osby  says,  "  How 
long  Mr.  Helwys  lived,  and  continued  the  elder  of  this 
church  of  Baptists  in  London,  I  cannot  find.  The  books 
wrote  against  them  at  this  time  show  that  they  went  on 
with  great  courage  and  resolution  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
the  severities  used  against  them  by  the  civil  power,  in- 
creased very  much  in  their  numbers."^ 

Neither  can  I  satisfy  curiosity  respecting  Mr.  John 
Spilsbury,  the  pastor  of  the  first  Particular  or  Calvinistic 
Baptist  Church,  which  met  in  Broad  Street,  Wapping, 
London.  I  can  only  say  that  his  signature  is  fixed  to 
the  Confession  of  Faith  published  in  1646,  and  to  sundry 
other  public  documents,  the  last  being  the  "  Humble 
Apology  of  some  commonly  called  Anabaptists,"  pre- 
sented to  Charles  IL  in  1660,  as  a  disclaimer  of  sympathy 
with  Venner's  insurrection.  I  observe  that,  though  he 
joined  William  KiflSn  in  a  letter  to  the  Baptists  in  Dub- 
lin, persuading  them  to  submit  quietly  to  the  Protectorate, 
he  afterward  united  with  a  number  of  others  in  an  ad- 
dress to  Cromwell,  earnestly  protesting  against  his  as- 
sumption of  the  kingly  title.  It  may  be  concluded  that 
Mr.  Spilsbury  was  a  man  of  influence  in  the  denomina- 
tion. How  long  he  lived  after  the  Restoration  does  not 
appear.  Heixules  Collins  became  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Broad  Street  in  1677.  Whether  he  was  Mr.  Spils- 
1  Tracts,  p.  92.  .  *  History,  i,  275. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  393 

bury's  immediate   successor,    I  have  not  the    means  of 
deciding. 

Henry  Denne  was  a  man  of  note.  He  was  educated 
in  the  University  of  Cambridge  ,  where  he  acquired  a 
respectable  standing.  Having  received  ordination  from 
the  bishop  of  St.  David's  about  the  year  1630,  he  was 
presented  to  the  living  of  Pyrton,  in  Hertfordshire,  which 
he  held  for  ten  years,  greatly  to  the  profit  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, by  whom  he  was  justly  esteemed  as  an  instructive 
and  faithful  preacher.  In  1641  he  was  appointed  to 
preach  at  a  visitation  held  at  Baldock,  and  he  determined 
to  embrace  the  opportunity  of  exposing  the  evils  which 
had  long  grieved  and  vexed  him,  particularly  "  the  sin  of 
persecution,  the  vices  of  the  clergy,  and  the  corruptions 
in  doctrine  and  worship  which  he  apprehended  to  be  in 
the  Established  Church."  His  text  was  John  v.  35.  After 
an  ingenious  introduction,  he  proceeded  to  execute  his 
purpose,  and  laid  on  the  lash  quite  freely.  The  pride  and 
covetousness  of  the  clergy,  their  pluralities,  their  neglect 
of  duty  by  non-residence,  and  other  evils,  were  held  up  to 
view,  and  reformation  boldly  demanded.  "  I  must  call 
upon  those  in  authority,"  he  said,  "  to  make  diligent 
search  after  these  foxes.  If  the  courts  had  been  so  vigil- 
ant to  find  out  these  as  nonconformable  ministers,  surely 
by  this  time  the  church  would  have  been  as  free  f;om 
them  as  the  land  from  tvolves.  But  they  have  preferred 
the  traditions  of  men  before  the  commandments  of  Al- 
mighty God.  I  tell  you,  that  conformity  had  ever  sped 
the  worse  for  their  sakes,  who,  breaking  the  command- 
ments of  God,  think  to  make  amends  with  conformity  to 
the  traditions  of  men."  ^ 

1  Crosby,  i.  298-301. 


394  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

We  cannot  be  surpi-ised  at  hearing  that  soon  after  this 
he  announced  his  change  of  sentiments.  In  the  early 
part  of  1643  he  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Thomas  Lamb, 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Bell  Alley,  Coleman  Street,  Lon- 
don. His  gifts  were  thankfully  recognized  by  the  church, 
and  by  their  direction  he  engaged  in  a  mission  to  the 
counties  of  Staffordshire  and  Cambridgeshire,  where  he 
preached  the  gospel  with  great  success  and  formed  many 
churches.  This  roused  the  ire  of  the  Presbyterian  au- 
thorities. He  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  at  Cambridge. 
By  the  interference  of  a  fi-iend  this  case  was  brought  be- 
fore Parliament,  in  order  to  which  he  was  removed  to  the 
Peterhouse,  Aldersgate  Street,  London.  The  notorious 
Dr.  Featley  was  in  the  same  prison,  as  a  royalist.  Mr. 
Denne  challenged  him  to  a  disputation.  They  met  and 
fought,  in  the  usual  way,  with  propositions  and  syllogisms, 
till  the  doctor  was  tired,  and  withdrew  from  the  conflict. 
Mr.  Denne  carried  on  the  war  with  his  pen,  and  published 
a  reply  to  Dr.  F.'s  famous  book.  The  Dippers  Dipt^  etc. 

He  was  soon  released,  and  was  appointed  minister  of 
Eltisley  parish,  Cambridgeshire,  from  which  place,  as  a 
centre,  he  itinerated  in  various  directions,  preaching  and 
baptizing.  In  1645  he  visited  the  county  of  Kent,  and 
his  labors  were  blessed  to  many. 

The  opposition  Mr.  Denne  met  with  issued  in  his 
leaving  Eltisley.  He  then  entered  the  army,  and  served 
several  years.  But  he  did  not  desist  from  preaching, 
nor  was  it  necessary,  for  praying  and  preaching  were 
no  strange  things  among  the  Parliamentary  soldiers. 
"Cornet  Denne"  was  his  military  tide,  but  "Parson 
Denne"  was  the  appellation  by  which  he  was  known 
among   his   associates.     I  cannot   tell   whether   he   saw 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  395 

any  fighting  or  not,  nor  in  what  parts  of  England  the 
regiment  to  which  he  was  attached  was  from  time  to 
time  quartered.  The  only  recorded  event  is  his  narrow 
escape  from  death  as  a  mutineer.  In  May,  1649,  ^^ 
took  part  in  a  mutiny  of  the  troops,  partly  occasioned  by 
the  men's  unwillingness  to  join  the  expedition  to  Ireland, 
and  partly  by  discontent  with  the  existing  state  of  aflairs. 
Prompt  measures  were  taken,  and  the  revolt  was  quelled  ; 
but  Mr.  Denne  and  three  others  were  sentenced  to  be 
shot.  "  Cornet  Denne,  being  a  man  of  parts,  and  one 
who  had  been  esteemed  for  piety  and  honesty,  received 
his  sentence  with  great  manliness  and  fortitude  of  spirit, 
yet  with  so  much  relenting  and  acknowledgment  of  the 
just  hand  of  God,  the  justice  of  the  sentence,  and  his 
submission  thereunto,  that  he  seemed  to  rejoice  with 
willingness  to  suffer  under  so  righteous  a  sentence,  and 
he  professed  openly,  that  although  his  heart  could  not 
accuse  him  of  an  evil  meaning,  yet  he  was  convinced  of 
the  evil  of  the  action,  and  dangerous  consequences  of  it; 
that  if  they  had  but  continued  three  or  four  days  longer, 
the  land  had  been  plunged  in  misery  and  ruin."  Cornet 
Tompson  and  Corporals  Church  and  Perkins  were  shot ; 
and  "  Cornet  Denne  being  called  out,  came  with  much 
composure  of  spirit,  expecting  to  die,  but  the  general 
having  commanded  the  Lieutenant-general  Cromwell  to 
let  him  know  at  the  place  of  execution  that  his  excellency 
had  extended  mercy  to  him,  he  soberly  and  suddenly  re- 
plied, '  I  am  not  worthy  of  such  a  mercy ;  I  am  more 
ashamed  to  live  than  afraid  to  die' — weeping  bitterly." ' 
He  afterward  endeavored  to  repair  the  mischief  by  pub- 
lishing a  pamphlet  in  which  the  origin  and  objects  of  the 
1  Fenstanton  Records,  Introductory  Notice,  pp.  xii.,  xiii. 


,^9^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

mutiny  were  stated,  and  the  deplorable  consequences 
which  would  have  followed  if  it  had  not  been  suppressed 
were  faithfully  set  forth. 

It  is  not  likely  that  he  continued  long  in  the  army 
after  this.  We  next  find  him  in  his  place  as  a  member 
of  the  church  at  Fenstanton  in  1653,  taking  part  in  cer- 
tain disciplinary  proceedings.  At  one  of  their  meetings 
Henry  Denne  began  to  speak,  saying,  "  Brethren,  I  de- 
sire you  to  consider  the  word  of  Christ,  saying.  Go  ye 
therefore^  and  teach  all  nations.^  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father.,  Son.,  and  Holy  Spirit;  teaching" 
them  to  observe  whatsoever  things  I  have  commanded 
you.,  and  lot  I  am  -with  you  alway.,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world  (Matt,  xxviii.  19);  which  last  words  are 
often  used  by  us,  yet  I  think  not  too  often.  But  I  desire 
that  we  may  seriously  consider  the  former,  viz.,  Go,  teach 
all  nations.,  baptizing  them.,  etc.,  [or]  as  Mark  saith.  Go., 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;  and  so,  whether  we 
are  not  as  much  bound  to  observe  them  as  any.  And  if 
it  appeareth  that  we  are,  then  I  pray  consider  whether 
we  are  not  in  a  great  fault,  in  being  so  negligent  in 
sending  forth  persons  to  divulge  the  gospel,  in  those 
many  places  that  are  ignorant  thereof  Truly,  I  con- 
ceive that  we  are  much  to  blame,  and  especially  seeing 
there  are  many  towns  hereabouts  that  have  no  teacher ; 
and  who  can  tell  but  that  the  Lord  may  work  in  this 
opportunity?"^  The  result  was  that  Mr.  Denne  and 
another  member  were  sent  out  on  a  missionary  excur- 
sion, an  account  of  which  was  given  to  the  church  on 
their  return.  Next  year  he  went  again  into  Kent,  and 
spent  some  time  at  Canterbury.  His  labours  there  were 
'  Fenstanton  Records,  p.  71. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  y)*J 

BO  acceptable  that  the  church  invited  him  to  settle  among 
them.  The  Fenstanton  Church  consented,  appointed  an- 
other brother  to  attend  him  on  the  journey,  and  "  money 
and  horses  were  provided  for  them."  He  arrived  in 
safety  and  was  received  with  gladness.  "  He  is  pro- 
vided of  an  house,"  the  Canterbury  Church  said,  in  a 
letter  to  that  of  Fenstanton,  dated  Feb.  19,  1655,  "  and 
we  doubt  not  of  a  comfortable  being  and  subsistence 
amongst  us."  ^  He  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  chief 
men  of  the  denomination.  In  165S  he  was  engaged  in 
a  disputation  on  baptism  with  Dr.  Gunning,  a  celebrated 
divine  of  the  day,  afterward  bishop,  successively,  of 
Chichester  and  Ely.  It  was  held  in  the  church  of  St. 
Clement  Danes,  Strand,  London,  and  was  attended  by 
some  thousands  of  persons.  Mr.  Denne  published  an 
account  of  it,  and  soon  after  baptized  the  lady  at  whose 
instance  the  disputation  took  place.  Her  doubts  were  re- 
moved by  Mr.  Denne's  arguments. 

Nothing  more  is  known  of  Mr.  Denne  except  the  pub- 
lication of  two  small  pamphlets.  His  signature  appears 
among  those  to  the  Humble  Apology.,  etc.,  issued  after 
Venner's  insurrection.  Crosby  supposes  that  he  died  in 
the  year  1661,  and  states  that  an  Episcopal  clergyman 
composed  the  following  epitaph  for  his  tomb  : 

"To  tell  his  wisdom,  learning,  goodness  unto  men, 
I  need  to  say  no  more — But  here  lies  Henry  Denne."  » 

Francis  Cornwell,  A.M.,  was  educated  at  Emman- 
uel College,  Cambridge.  Neal  says  that  "  he  was  one  of 
the  most  learned  divines  that  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
Baptists."     This  took  place  under  singular  circumstances. 

*  Fenstanton  Records,  p.  135.  *  History,  i.  306. 

34 


39^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Mr.  Cornwell  was  vicar  of  Marden,  Kent,  where  he  had 
refused  to  conform  to  certain  ceremonies  imposed  bj 
Archbishop  Laud,  and  for  his  refusal  he  was  committed 
to  Maidstone  jail.  While  there,  a  woman  who  visited 
h.m  intimated  that  she  had  some  doubts  respecting  the 
lawfulness  of  infant  baptism.  He  endeavored  to  remove 
them  by  the  best  arguments  he  could  think  of,  but  failed 
to  satisfy  hei'.  This  led  him  to  further  inquiry,  the  result 
of  which  was  that  he  abandoned  infant  baptism,  and  was 
baptized  by  Mr.  William  Jetfery,  an  eminent  Baptist 
minister.  After  his  release  from  prison  he  was  called  on 
to  preach  a  sermon  at  a  meeting  of  ministers  at  Cran- 
brook.  This  was  in  1644.  He  chose  for  his  text  Mark 
vii.  7,  and  "  took  the  liberty  of  declaring  his  sentiments 
freely  in  this  point ;  and  told  them  paedobaptism  was  an 
antichristian  innovation,  a  human  tradition,  and  a  prac- 
tice for  which  there  was  neither  precept,  nor  true  deduc- 
tion from  the  word  of  God,"  ^  Much  discussion  followed, 
and  great  indignation  was  manifested  ;  but  Mr.  C.  Black- 
wood, one  of  the  ministers  present,  who  had  taken  down 
the  sermon  in  short-hand,  having  promised  to  furnish  a 
reply  to  it,  the  further  consideration  of  the  subject  was 
postponed  till  their  next  meeting.  Instead  of  replying, 
however,  Mr.  Blackwood  followed  Mr.  Cornwell's  ex- 
ample, finding  it  impossible  to  refute  him,  and  was  also 
baptized  by  Mr.  Jeffery.  Mr.  Cornwell  was  very  zealous 
for  Baptist  principles.  His  work  on  baptism,  entitle  1 
A  Vindication  of  the  Royal  Commission  of  King 
yesus,  was  distributed  among  the  members  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  produced  great  excitement.  He  soon 
left  the  Establishment,  and  formed  a  Baptist  church  in  the 
'  History^  i.  346. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  399 

neighborhood  of  Cranbrook,  over  which  he  presided  till 
his  death. 

Christopher  Blackwood  was  an  able  preacher. 
He  was  born  in  1606,  graduated  at  Cambridge  in  1624  and 
became  curate  of  Rye,  in  Sussex.  When  he  embraced 
Baptist  principles,  he  became  pastor  of  a  church  which 
met  at  Spillshill  House,  near  Staplehurst,  Kent.  After 
laboring  there  some  years,  he  went  into  the  army,  accom- 
panied the  forces  sent  to  Ireland,  and  was  for  some  time 
pastor  of  a  church  at  Dublin,  exercising,  as  it  would 
seem,  a  general  superintendence  over  the  other  Baptist 
churches  in  that  country.  In  a  letter  sent  to  Secretary 
Thurloe,  in  the  year  1655,  he  is  styled  "The  Oracle  of 
the  Anabaptists  in  Ireland."  He  appears  to  have  returned 
to  England  about  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  as  his  name 
is  affixed  to  the  Baptist  declaration  against  Venner's  re- 
bellion. In  1 661  he  went  to  Holland,  where  he  remained 
a  year.  Shortly  after  his  return  he  resumed  his  residence 
in  Dublin,  where  he  died  in  1670.  He  was  a  leai^ned 
man,  well  read  in  the  Fathers.  Both  he  and  Mr.  Corn- 
well  were  warm  advocates  of  soul-freedom,  and  protested 
in  their  writings  against  the  intolerance  of  the  Presby- 
terian party.  His  first  publication  was  entitled  The 
Storming  of  Antichrist  in  his  two  Last  and  Strongest 
Garrisons — Compulsion  of  Conscietzce  and  Infants^ 
Baptisi7i.  ^ 

Major-Gen'^ral  Harrison  was  one  of  Cromwell's 
best  soldiers,  and  for  a  time  enjoyed  his  entire  confidence. 
He  commanded  the  troop  of  horse  appointed  to  convey 
Charles  I.  from  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  Hurst  Castle.     He 

1  See  Baptist  Magazine  for  June,  July,  August,  and  September,  1867, 
for  a  valuable  collection  of  letters  written  by  Mr.  Blackwood. 


40O  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

was  one  of  the  king's  judges.  He  assisted  Cromwell  in 
dissolving  the  Long  Parliament.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Council  of  State  under  the  Commonwealth.  But  he 
was  a  stern  republican,  and  therefore  entirely  opposed 
to  the  Protectorate.  He  had  also  embraced  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  principles.  On  these  accounts  Cromwell  de- 
graded him  and  placed  him  in  confinement.  At  the  Re- 
storation he  was  excepted  from  clemency.  Ten  of  the 
regicides  (as  the  king's  judges  were  called)  were  hanged, 
drawn,  and  quartered.  Major-General  Harrison  was  one 
of  them.  He  suffered  with  great  calmness  and  intrepidity, 
declaring  at  the  place  of  execution  "  that  he  was  fully 
persuaded  that  what  he  had  done  was  the  cause  and 
work  of  God,  which  he  was  confident  God  would  own 
and  raise  up  again,  how  much  soever  it  suffered  at  that 
time." 

Mr.  Ivimey  says  that  "though  Major-General  Harrison 
was  a  Baptist  at  the  time  of  his  trial  and  execution,  yet 
he  was  not  at  the  period  of  the  king's  death  ;"  and  that 
"  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  Baptist  being  among  the 
king's  judges."'  This  is  not  quite  clear.  Thurloe,  in 
his  State  Papers.,  referring  to  Harrison's  refusal  to  sub- 
mit to  the  Protectorate,  in  December,  1654,  calls  him 
"  the  most  eminent  man  of  the  Anabaptist  party."  He 
could  scarcely  have  been  worthy  of  that  appellation  if  he 
had  not  been  for  some  time  connected  with  the  Baptist 
denomination. 

Harrison    is   generally   described    by   historians   as   a 

fanatic.      It  is  certain  that  he  was  an  impulsive  being, 

and  somewhat  tinctured  with  vanity.     But  there  can  be 

no  doubt  that  he  was  sincerely  and  soberly  in  earnest, 

'  Vol.  i.  293. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  401 

although  it  may  be  admitted  that  he  was  a  singular  man 
even  in  those  singular  times.  We  must  not  measure  the 
seventeenth  century  by  the  nineteenth.  A  modern  writer 
says  of  Harrison  :  "  For  the  integrity  of  his  life,  and  the 
Christian  heroism  with  which  he  endured  a  cruel  and 
ignominious  death,  he  may  deservedly  be  classed,  if  he 
may  not  challenge  priority,  with  a  More,  a  Russell,  a 
Sydney." ' 

Here  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  him  to 
Cromwell  on  occasion  of  his  taking  the  command  of  the 
army  sent  to  invade  Scotland  in  1650:  "Oh  that  a 
spirit  of  faith  and  supplication  may  be  poured  forth  on 
you  and  your  army !  There  is  more  to  be  had  in  this 
poor  simple  way  than  even  most  saints  expect.  My  lord, 
let  waiting  upon  Jehovah  be  the  greatest  and  most  con- 
siderable business  you  have  every  day ;  reckon  it  so, 
more  than  to  eat,  sleep,  or  council  together.  Run  aside 
sometimes  from  your  company,  and  get  a  woi'd  with  the 
Lord.  Why  should  you  not  have  three  or  four  precious 
souls  always  standing  at  your  elbow,  with  whom  you 
might  now  and  then  turn  into  a  corner?  I  have  found 
refreshment  and  mercy  in  such  a  way.  Ai  !  the  Lord 
of  compassion  own,  pity  your  burdens,  care  for  you,  stand 
by  and  refresh  your  heart  each  moment !  I  would  I 
could  in  any  kind  do  you  good.  My  heart  is  with  you, 
and  my  poor  prayers  to  my  God  for  you."  In  a  former 
part  of  the  letter  he  had  said,  "  I  doubt  not  your  success  , 
but  I  think  faith  and  prayer  must  be  the  ch=ef  engines."  ''■ 

Cromwell    loved   such   talk.      "  In  such   spirit,"  says 
Carlyle,  "  goes  Oliver  Cromwell  to  the  wars.     '  A  God- 
^  Btirton's  Diary,  by  Rutt,  iv.  432,  note. 
*  Fensianton  Records,  pp.  315-317. 
34* 


403  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

intoxicated  man,'  as  Novalis  elsewhere  phrases  it.  I 
have  asked  myself,  if  anywhere  in  modern  European 
history,  or  even  in  ancient  Asiatic,  there  was  found  a 
man  practicing  this  mean  world's  affairs  with  a  heart 
more  filled  by  the  idea  of  the  Highest !  Bathed  in  the 
eternal  splendors — it  is  so  he  walks  our  dim  eaith  ;  this 
man  is  one  of  few.  He  is  projected  with  a  terrible  force 
out  of  the  eternities,  and  in  the  times  and  their  arenas 
there  is  nothing  that  can  withstand  him." ' 

Colonel  Hutchinson  was  a  man  of  a  noble  mind 
and  a  warm  heart.  He  is  immortalized  in  the  Memoirs 
written  by  his  widow,  and  well  known  to  all  students  of 
English  history.  It  is  valuable  on  historical  accounts, 
as  elucidating  sundry  misty  paragraphs  in  other  writers. 
But  its  great  charm  consists  in  the  exquisite  delineations 
of  character  with  which  it  abounds.  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
gives  us  a  full-length  portraiture  of  her  excellent  hus- 
band, drawn,  it  is  true,  by  the  hand  of  affection,  and 
therefore  some  may  be  disposed  to  deem  it  flattering ;  but 
there  is  such  an  air  of  truthfulness  in  the  narrative  that  it 
is  impossible  to  doubt  the  general  correctness  of  the  picture. 
There  are  also  many  discriminating  sketches  of  other 
persons  who  figured  prominently  in  the  scenes  of  that 
struggle  for  freedom  which  Clarendon  calls  "  The  Great 
Rebellion." 

The  colonel  was  for  some  time  governor  of  Notting- 
ham, under  the  Parliament.  He  afterward  sat  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  where  he  was  always  listened  to 
with  great  respect.  Having  been  one  of  the  king's  judges, 
he  was  in  great  peril  at  the  Restoration.  But  he  had 
Dcwerful  connections,  and  he  had  conciliated  the  regard 
1  Cromwell's  letters  and  Speeches,  ii.  1 73. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  403 

of  his  enemies  by  acts  of  moderation  and  kindness  when 
he  was  in  office.  His  life  was  spared  ;  yet  he  was  treated 
as  a  suspected  person,  whom  any  one  might  vex  and  an 
noy  with  impunity,  and  whom,  on  any  pretext,  the  gov 
ernment  might  put  in  durance.  So  it  proved.  He  was 
suddenly  apprehended  on  a  charge  of  complicity  in  some 
treasonable  plot,  and  committed  to  the  Tower,  whence  he 
was  conveyed  to  Sandown  Castle,  near  Deal.  There  was 
no  legal  investigation — no  trial.  The  accusation  was  ut- 
terly false  ;  but  it  was  determined  to  put  him  out  of  the 
way.  The  keen  air  of  the  sea-coast  was  ill-suited  to  the 
delicate  state  of  his  health  ;  added  to  which,  the  accom- 
modations of  the  prison  were  of  the  most  miserable  kind. 
The  physician  declared  that  "  the  place  killed  him."  He 
died  in  confinement,  September  11,  1664. 

Mrs.  Hutchinson  has  given  an  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  she  and  her  husband  were  converted  to  Bap- 
tist principles.  It  occurred  at  Nottingham  in  the  year 
1647. 

"  When  formerly  the  Presbyterian  ministers  had  forced 
him,  for  quietness'  sake,  to  go  and  break  up  a  private 
meeting  in  the  cannonier's  chamber,  there  were  found 
some  notes  concerning  predobaptism,  which  were  brought 
into  the  governor's  lodgings ;  and  his  wife  having  then 
more  leisure  to  read  than  he,  having  perused  them  and 
compared  them  with  the  Scriptures,  found  not  what  to 
say  against  the  truths  they  asserted,  concerning  the  mis- 
application of  that  ordinance  to  infants ;  but  being  then 
young  and  modest,  she  thought  it  a  kind  of  virtue  to  sub- 
mit to  the  judgment  and  practice  of  most  churches,  rather 
than  to  defend  a  singular  opinion  of  her  own,  she  not 
being  then  enlightened  in  that  great  mistake  of  the  na- 


f04  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

tional  churches.  But  in  this  j-^ear  she,  happening  to  be 
with  child,  communicated  her  doubts  to  her  husband, 
and  desired  him  to  endeavor  her  satisfaction ;  which 
while  he  did,  he  himself  became  as  unsatisfied,  or  rather 
satisfied  against  it.  First,  therefore,  he  diligently  searched 
the  Scriptures  alone,  and  could  find  in  them  no  ground  at 
all  for  that  practice ;  then  he  bought  and  read  all  the 
eminent  ti'eatises  on  both  sides,  which  at  that  time  came 
thick  from  the  presses,  and  was  still  more  satisfied  of  the 
error  of  the  P^dobaptists.  After  this,  his  wife  being 
brought  to  bed,  that  he  might,  if  possible,  give  the  relig- 
ious party  no  offence,  he  invited  all  the  ministers  to  din- 
ner, and  propounded  his  doubt  and  the  ground  thereof 
to  them.  None  of  them  could  defend  their  practice  with 
any  satisfactory  reason,  but  the  tradition  of  the  church 
from  the  primitive  times,  and  their  main  buckler  of  fed- 
eral holiness,  which  Tombes  and  Denne  had  so  excel- 
lently overthrown.  He  and  his  wife  then,  professing 
themselves  unsatisfied  in  the  practice,  desired  their  opin- 
ions, what  they  ought  to  do.  Most  answered,  to  conform 
to  the  general  practice  of  other  Christians,  how  dark  so- 
ever it  were  to  themselves ;  but  Mr.  Foxcraft,  one  of  the 
assembly,  said  that  except  they  were  convinced  of  the 
warrant  of  that  practice  from  the  word,  they  sinned  in 
doing  it :  whereupon  that  infant  was  not  baptized.  And 
now  the  governor  and  his  wife,  notwithstanding  that  they 
forsook  not  their  assemblies,  nor  retracted  their  benevo- 
lences and  civilities  from  them,  yet  were  they  reviled  by 
them,  called  fanatics  and  Anabaptists,  and  often  glanced 
at  in  their  public  sermons.  And  not  only  the  ministers, 
but  all  their  zealous  sectaries,  conceived  implacable  mal- 
ice against  them  upon  this  account ;  which  was  carried 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  405 

on  with  a  spirit  of  envy  and  persecution  to  the  last, 
though  he,  on  his  side,  might  well  have  said  to  them,  as 
his  Master  said  to  the  old  Pharisees  :  '  Many  gcod  works 
have  I  done  among  you  :  for  which  of  these  do  you  hate 
me?"'» 

'  Memoirs  of  Col.  Hutchinson,  pp.  299-301. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Biographical  Notices  continued — Henry  Jessey,  A.  M. — John  Canne — 
Vavasor  Powell — Abraham  Cheare. 

HENRY  JESSEY,  A.  M.,  was  a  native  of  York- 
shire, and  son  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman.  Hav- 
ing been  carefully  prepared  for  university  studies,  he 
entered  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  in  the  seventeenth 
year  of  his  age,  and  continued  there  six  years.  He  was  a 
hard  student.  In  addition  to  a  competent  knowledge  of 
classics  and  mathematics,  he  acquired  great  proficiency 
in  Hebrew  and  Rabbinical  lore,  and  was  well  skilled  in 
Syriac  and  Arabic. 

He  was  converted  to  God  while  at  the  universit}' — a 
rare  occurrence  at  that  time.  After  his  ordination  he 
officiated  for  a  short  time  in  a  country  parish,  but  was 
removed  on  account  of  his  nonconformity  to  some  of  the 
rites  and  services  enjoined.  In  1637  he  became  pastor 
of  an  Independent  church  in  London.  He  had  not  been 
long  there  when  the  Baptist  controversy  broke  out  among 
tliem.  Many  of  his  congregation  withdrew  and  joined 
Baptist  churches.  Being  led  thereby  to  study  anew  the 
points  in  debate,  he  was  convinced  of  the  unlawfulness 
of  sprinkling,  announced  the  fact  to  his  people  in  1642, 
and  for  two  years  dipped  the  children  that  were  brought 
406 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  40/ 

to  him.  Further  thought  and  inquiry  issued  in  a  convic- 
tion that  believers  only  are  the  proper  subjects  of  baptism. 
Before  he  took  the  final  step  he  conferred  with  Dr.  Good- 
win, Philip  Nye,  and  other  eminent  Independent  minis- 
ters, but  their  arguments  for  inHuit  baptism  failed  to  give 
him  satisfaction.  He  followed  the  dictates  of  conscience, 
was  baptized  by  Hanserd  Knollys  in  June,  1645,  and  be- 
came pastor  of  a  church  which  is  supposed  to  have  met 
in  Woodmonger's  Hall,  London.  He  labored  there  till 
his  death. 

Mr.  Jessey  was  a  hard  student.  He  continued  to  be  so 
all  his  days.  Biblical  criticism  was  his  principal  study. 
A  large  amount  of  his  time  was  devoted  to  a  revision  of 
our  authorized  version  of  the  Scriptures.  Crosby  gives 
the  following  account  of  his  labors  in  this  department: 

"Besides  his  constant  labors  in  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
there  was  another  profitable  work  wherein  his  soul  was 
engaged,  and  in  which  he  took  great  pains  for  divers 
years ;  and  this  was  no  less  than  the  making  a  new  and 
more  correct  translation  of  the  Holy  Bible. 

"  He  was  very  industrious,  in  the  first  place,  to  under- 
stand fully  those  languages  in  which  it  was  written  :  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  Testaments  he  constantly  carried 
about  him,  frequently  calling  one  his  'sword  and  dagger,* 
and  the  other  his  '  shield  and  buckler.'  And  besides  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek,  he  studied  the  Syriac  and  Chaldee 
dialects,  which  the  unlearned  Jews  spoke  in  their 
captivity.  But  notwithstanding  his  qualifications  in  this 
and  many  other  respects,  he  had  not  the  vanity  to  think 
this  a  work  fit  for  any  single  man  to  encounter  with,  and 
therefore  sent  letters  to  many  learned  men  of  this  and 
other  nations,  desiring  their  assistance  and  joint  labors 


(fo8  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

with  him  in  this  great  design.  And  by  his  persuasions 
many  persons  of  great  note  for  their  learning,  faithful- 
ness, and  piety,  did  engage  in  it;  particularly  Mr.  Rowe, 
the  Hebrew  professor  of  Aberdeen,  took  great  pains  with 
him  herein.  The  writer  of  Mr.  Jessey's  life  says,  that 
he  made  it  the  master  study  of  his  life,  and  would  often 
cry  out,  '  Oh  that  I  might  see  this  done  before  I  die  !' 

"  In  that  book  there  is  a  specimen  given  of  the  errors 
he  took  notice  of  in  the  present  translation,  the  rules-  he 
observed  in  correcting  them,  and  the  progress  that  was 
made  in  this  work. 

"  It  appears  that  it  was  almost  completed,  and  wanted 
little  more  than  the  appointing  commissioners  to  examine 
it,  and  authorize  its  publication,  which  was  what  he  always 
intended,  and  of  which  he  had  from  the  first  some  as- 
surances given  him.  But  the  great  turn  that  was  given 
to  public  affairs,  both  in  Church  and  State,  by  the  Re- 
storation, caused  this  great  and  noble  design  to  prove 
abortive."' 

Under  the  Protectorate,  Mr.  Jessey  was  appointed  one 
of  the  "  Triers."  He  officiated  also  at  St.  George's 
Church,  Southwark,  every  Lord's  Day  morning,  preaching 
to  his  own  people  in  the  afternoon,  and  at  other  places 
during  the  week. 

Being  an  unmarried  man,  he  was  able  to  gratify  his 
benevolent  disposition  to  a  large  extent.  His  charities 
were  very  liberally  bestowed.  About  thirty  families  were 
chiefly  sustained  by  him.  Applications  for  aid  pressed 
upon  him  daily,  and  if  they  were  deserving  he  seldom 
refused  them.  On  one  occasion  he  interested  himself  in 
behalf  of  the  poor  Jews  resident  in  'Jerusalem,  who  had 

1  History  \.  313. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  409 

fiillen  into  great  destitution  through  the  failure  of  custom- 
ary remittances  from  Europe.  He  succeeded  in  enlist- 
ing the  sympathies  of  London  merchants  and  others,  and 
remitted  upward  of  300/.  (fifteen  hundred  dollars)  for 
their  relief. 

On  account  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held, 
and  his  well-known  learning  and  admirable  judgment,  his 
opinion  was  frequently  sought  on  a  great  variety  of  sub- 
jects. Such  demands  on  his  time  were  thereby  occa- 
sioned that  he  affixed  the  following  notice  to  his  study 

door 

"Amice,  quisquis  hue  ades; 
Aut  agito  paucis,  aut  abi : 
Aut  me  laborantem  adjuva." 

"  Whatever  friend  comes  hither, 
Despatch  in  brief,  or  go, 
Or  help  me  busied  too." 

By  Henry  Jessey. 

At  the  Restoration,  Mr.  Jessey  was  quickly  ejected  from 
St.  George's  Church.  Twice  he  suffered  imprisonment. 
But  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  "great  and  sore  troubles" 
of  the  times  of  Charles  II.  and  his  brother.  He  died 
September  4,  1663,  and  was  followed  to  his  grave  by 
thousands  of  mourners. 

"  He  spent  his  last  days  and  nights  in  searching  his 
heart,  humbling  his  soul,  extolling  free  grace,  and  ex- 
horting all  about  him  to  keep  close  to  God,  to  persevere 
in  faith,  and  prepare  for  trials ;  adding  for  their  en- 
couragement the  long  experience  he  had  had  of  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord  in  all  times  and  conditions.  The 
last  evening  but  one  before  his  departure,  having  a  mind 
to  walk,  he  was  led  about  the  room,  and  often  repeated 

35 


4XO  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

this  expression,  '  God  is  good ;  he  doth  not  lead  me 
whither  I  would  not,  as  he  did  Peter :  good  is  the  Lord 
to  me.'  Being  soon  tired,  he  sat  down  on  his  bed,  and 
one  who  sat  by  him  said,  '  They  among  whom  you  have 
labored  can  witness  that  you  have  been  a  faithful  servant 
of  Christ ;  making  his  glory  your  utmost  end,  for  the  good 
of  their  souls.'  But  he  replied,  '  Say  no  more  of  that ; 
exalt  God — exalt  God.'  He  spent  the  first  part  of  his  last 
night  in  blessing  God  and  singing  praises  to  his  name, 
and  fell  asleep  about  eleven  o'clock.  Waking  again  be- 
tween two  and  three,  he  fell  into  a  wonderful  strain  of 
abasing  himself,  and  admiring  the  love  of  God,  '  that  he 
should  choose  the  vilest,  the  unworthiest,  and  the  basest,* 
which  last  word  he  repeated  many  times,  and  then  cried 
out,  "  Oh,  the  unspeakable  love  of  God,  that  he  should 
reach  me,  when  I  could  not  reach  him  !"  And  when  the 
cordial  ordered  for  that  night  was  brought,  he  said, 
'  Trouble  me  not — upon  your  peril,  trouble  me  not !' 
He  was  then  as  if  he  had  seen  some  glorious  vision,  or 
had  been  in  a  rapture.  .  .  .  The  last  words  he  was  heard 
to  speak  were  these :  '  He  counted  me  worthy.'  And 
when  the  sound  of  his  words  ceased,  his  lips  were  ob- 
served still  to  move,  and  he  seemed  to  be  inwardly  ador- 
ing that  God  whom  in  his  health  he  served,  feared,  and 
praised,  and  made  his  boast  of  continually — whose  law  he 
preached,  and  whose  goodness  he  proclaimed.  Such  was 
his  habitual  sense  of  the  goodness  of  God  that,  when  he 
met  an  acquaintance,  it  was  a  common  thing  for  him  (after 
the  usual  salutations)  to  say,  'Verily  God  is  good — blessed 
be  his  name — stick  to  him.'  ...  He  was  so  great  a 
scripturist,  that  if  one  began  to  rehearse  any  passage,  he 
could  go  on  with  it,  and  name  the  book,  chapter,  and 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  \\\ 

verse  where  it  migh^  be  found.  The  original  languages 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were  as  familiar  to  him 
as  his  mother  tongue."^ 

John  Canne  was  another  worthy  champion  of  the 
truth.  He  was  born  about  the  year  1590,  and  for  a  short 
time  ministered  in  the  English  Church.  In  1621  he  was 
chosen  pastor  of  a  church  which  afterward  met  in  Dead- 
man's  Place,  Southwark,  and  which  had  been  formed  but 
a  little  time  before.  The  church  met  at  first  stealthily 
in  private  houses,  to  avoid  persecution,  which  at  length 
became  so  fierce  that  Mr.  Canne  found  it  necessary  to 
withdraw  from  England  for  a  time.  He  fixed  his  resi- 
dence at  Amsterdam,  where  he  was  chosen  pastor  of 
"the  ancient  English  Church."  In  that  city  he  published 
in  1634  his  work  entitled  The  Necessity  of  Separation^ 
justifying  dissent  from  the  Church  of  England,  and  en- 
forcing that  duty.  During  a  visit  to  England  ir.  1641  he 
formed  the  church  at  Broadmead,  Bristol.  He  returned 
to  his  pastoral  duties  at  Amsterdam,  but  visited  his  native 
land  again  after  the  death  of  Charles  I.,  and  pi'obably  spent 
several  years,  wholly  or  partially,  in  England.  It  ap- 
pears that  he  was  dissatisfied  with  the  Protectorate,  and 
as  he  was  a  man  whose  influence  might  be  dreaded,  he 
was  not  suffered  to  propagate  his  opinions  undisturbed. 
He  was  banished  from  Hull,  where  he  had  been  preach- 
ing for  some  time,  and  after  some  wanderings  fixed  his 
residence  at  London.  Having  embraced  Fifth  Monarchy 
principles,  although  he  had  no  sympathy  with  the  polit- 
ical schemes  of  their  advocates,  he  was  apprehended,  in 
April,  1658,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Coleman  Street,  and 
committed  to  prison,  but  acquitted  on  his  tria'.  Once 
'  Palmer's  Notuonforviists'  Memorial,  i.  133. 


412  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

more  he  sought  refuge  at  Amsterdam,  and  exercised  hia 
ir;'.nistry  there  till  his  death,  in  the  year  1667. 

Though  Mr.  Canne  was  a  "  baptized  man,"  as  he  is 
styled  in  the  records  of  the  Broadn.ead  Church,  he  main- 
tained and  pi^acticed  open  communion.  The  Rev. 
Charles  Stovel,  of  London,  who  edited  T/ie  Necessity  of 
Separation  for  the  Hanserd  Knollys  Society,  says,  in  a 
letter  to  the  author,  recently  received  :  "  I  see  nothing  in 
his  works  to  indicate  a  very  decided  baptistical  zeal.  I 
should  judge  that  he  was,  separating  from  all  hierarchies, 
a  free  communionist,  in  the  widest  meaning  of  that 
designation  that  could  comport  with  fellowship  in  vital 
religion." 

Believing  that  "  Scripture  is  its  own  best  interpreter," 
he  prepared  an  edition  of  the  Bible,  with  marginal  re- 
ferences, judiciously  selected,  and  excellently  adapted  to 
assist  thoughtful  inquirers  in  the  search  for  truth.  It  was 
first  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1644,  and  afterward,  re- 
peatedly, both  in  that  city  and  in  England.  The  Rev. 
Christopher  Anderson  says:  "The  first  English  Bible, 
with  scriptural  references  on  the  margin  throughout,  was 
prepared  and  printed  in  that  city  [Amsterdam]  by  John 
Canne.  He  proceeded  on  the  principle  that  '  Scripture 
was  the  best  interpreter  of  Scripture,'  and  his  parallels, 
therefore,  are  parallels  of  sense^  and  not  of  sound,  as  too 
many  have  been  since  his  day.  ...  A  good  reprint  would 
prove  a  very  valuable  and  salable  book."  ^ 

Vavasor  Powell  has  been  not  inappropriately  termed 

"the  Whitefield  of  Wales."      That  excellent  man  was 

born  at  Knocklas,  in  Radnorshire,  in  the  year  161 7.     He 

received  a  good  education,  and  was  well  skilled  in  the 

1  Annals  of  the  English  Bible,  ii.  559. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  4. 1 3 

learned  languages ;  but  he  was  such  a  wild  youth  that 
even  his  young  associates  called  him  dux  omnium 
malorum — leader  in  all  mischief.  Nevertheless,  he  was 
considered  in  those  times  good  enough  for  a  clergyman, 
and  was  accordingly  ordained,  and  admitted  to  a  curacy, 
although,  as  he  afterward  confessed,  he  "  slighted  the 
Scriptures,  and  was  a  stranger  to  secret  and  spiritual 
prayer,  and  a  great  profaner  of  the  Sabbath."  But  he 
did  not  long  continue  in  that  state.  God  "  called  him  by 
his  grace."  The  books  and  sermons  of  Puritan  ministers 
were  blessed  to  his  conversion.  Having  left  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  joined  the  Nonconformists,  he  engaged 
in  ministerial  labor  with  great  zeal.  He  was  an  eloquent 
and  popular  preacher,  and  had  the  honor  to  be  perse- 
cuted with  no  small  malice.  On  one  occasion,  when  he 
had  been  preaching  at  a  house  in  Brecknockshire,  he 
was  seized,  together  with  sixty  or  seventy  of  his  hearers, 
by  a  rude  mob,  who  placed  their  prisoners  in  the  church, 
as  it  was  too  late  at  night  to  take  them  to  a  magistrate. 
Mr.  Powell  improved  the  opportunity,  and  preached  in 
the  church  at  midnight  from  Matt.  x.  28.  Next  morning 
they  went  to  the  magistrate,  who  was  not  at  home  when 
they  arrived.  Mr.  Powell  thought  that  time  ought  not  to 
be  wasted,  and  therefore  preached  again,  greatly  to  the 
chagrin  of  his  worship,  who  found  his  house  so  uncere- 
moniously turned  into  a  conventicle.  His  daughter  had 
been  impressed  by  the  sermon,  and  interceded  for  the  re- 
lease of  the  prisoner,  which  was  reluctantly  gi-anted. 

The  opposition  was  so  violent  that,  in  1643,  Mr. 
Powell  went  to  London,  where  he  preached  to  many 
congregations  with  much  acceptance.  Next  year  he 
settled   at   Dartford,    in   Kent,    and   w  is  "  blessed   with 

36  * 


414  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

great  success  in  his  labors,  being  instrumental  in  bringing 
many  souls  to  Christ,  and  gathering  a  congregation  in 
that  town."  After  remaining  there  nearly  three  years, 
he  was  strongly  urged  to  return  to  Wales,  the  number  of 
faithful  ministers  in  that  country  being  then  very  small. 
He  went  accordingly,  in  1646,  and  spent  fourteen  years 
in  his  native  land,  traveling  from  place  to  place,  preach- 
ing incessantly,  and  planting  churches.  "  He  frequently 
preached  in  two  or  three  places  in  a  day,  and  was  seldom 
two  days  in  a  week  throughout  the  year  out  of  the  pulpit 
— nay,  he  would  sometimes  ride  a  hundred  miles  in  a 
week,  and  preach  in  every  place  where  he  might  have 
admittance,  either  night  or  day  ;  so  that  there  was  hardly 
a  church,  chapel,  or  town-hall  in  all  Wales  where  he  had 
not  preached,  besides  his  frequent  preaching  in  fairs  and 
markets,  upon  mountains  and  in  small  villages ;  for,  if  he 
passed  at  any  time  through  any  place  where  there  was  a 
concourse  of  people,  he  would  take  the  opportunity  of 
preaching  Christ  and  recommending  to  them  the  care  of 
their  souls,  and  another  world."  ^ 

In  1649  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners, 
under  authority  of  an  act  passed  "  for  the  better  propaga- 
tion and  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  Wales,  for  the  ejecting 
of  scandalous  ministers  and  schoolmasters,  and  redress  of 
some  grievances."  He  discharged  his  duty  in  that  office 
lionestly  ?nd  conscientiously,  though  it  occasioned  him 
much  ill-will.  The  good  effects  were  apparent  in  every 
part  of  the  principality. 

At  the  Restoration,  Vavasor  Powell  became  a  marked 
man.  Such  representations  were  made  against  him  that 
in  August,  1660,  orders  were  issued  by  government  to 
^  Crosby,  i.  376. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  415 

suppress  his  congregations.  In  the  following  January, 
immediately  after  Venner's  insurrection,  he  was  thrown 
hito  prison,  with  many  more,  and  continued  there  nine 
weeks,  when,  at  the  coronation,  a  general  pardon  was 
granted  and  he  was  released. 

But  the  term  of  freedom  was  short.  Preach  he  would, 
notwithstanding  all  prohibition.  It  was  impossible  to 
stop  him  unless  he  was  shut  up  in  jail,  and  there  was  no 
diffiaalty  about  that  in  the  days  of  Charles  II.  Upon  a 
vague  charge  of  "  sedition,  rebellion,  and  treason,"  pre- 
ferred by  the  high  sheriti'  of  Montgomeryshire,  he  was 
arrested.  The  sheriff  had  no  evidence  to  produce,  and 
the  prisoner  ought  to  have  been  released  at  the  .sessions, 
but  a  pretext  was  found  for  retaining  him,  because  he 
refused  to  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy. 
Soon  after  he  was  taken  to  London,  and  appeared  before 
the  king  and  council,  by  whom  he  was  committed  to 
the  Fleet  prison,  where  he  remained  nearly  two  years. 
For  twelve  months  he  was  not  allowed  to  leave  his  cham- 
ber, under  the  window  of  which  was  a  dunghill.  His 
health  was  so  impaired  by  the  noisome  effluvia  that  he 
never  thoroughly  recovered.  Thence  he  was  conveyed 
to  Southsea  Castle,  near  Portsmouth,  and  was  confined 
there  five  years  more.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  ob- 
tained his  liberty  by  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Crosby 
remarks  that  this  took  place  "upon  the  removal  of  Chan- 
cellor Hyde"  [Lord  Clarendon],  implying  that  the  im- 
prisonment w  s  altogether  illegal,  and  that  the  chancellor 
had  illegally  prevented  the  victim,  as  well  as  many  others, 
from  regaining  liberty. 

Mr.  Powell  repaired  immediately  to  Wales,  and  recom« 
menced  preaching.     He  waa  not  permitted  to  labor  long. 


41 6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

One  George  Jones,  an  Episcopal  clergj'man,  and  a  man 
of  infamous  character,  lodged  a  false  information  against 
him,  to  the  effect  that  several  of  his  congregation  went 
armed  to  their  meetings,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  resisting 
the  authorities.  This  was  levying  war  !  Again  the  min- 
ister of  Christ  was  shut  up  in  jail.  The  charge  could 
not  be  substantiated.  They  then  tendered  the  oaths.  He 
refused  to  take  them,  and  offered  to  give  bail  for  his  ap- 
pearance at  the  next  sessions.  His  request  was  denied, 
and  he  was  remanded  to  prison.  A  writ  of  habeas  cor- 
pus was  obtained,  and  he  was  taken  before  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  at  London :  yet,  although  the  court 
unanimously  decided  that  "  the  return  was  false  and 
illegal,"  they  committed  Mr.  Powell,  in  defiance  of  all 
law  and  justice,  to  the  Fleet  prison,  where  he  lay  till  his 
death,  October  17th,  1670. 

The  Lord  was  with  him  there,  and  gave  him  "  songs 
in  the  night."  Nor  was  he  wholly  useless.  He  had  op- 
poi'tunities  for  intercourse  with  his  brethren,  and  he  could 
use  his  pea  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause.  One  of 
the  last  acts  of  his  life  was  a  correspondence  with  the 
Broadmead  Church,  respecting  Mr.  Hardcastle,  who 
afterward  became  their  pastor.  It  was  singularly  illus- 
trative of  the  hardness  of  the  times.  Vavasor  Powell,  a 
prisoner,  recommends  to  the  church  a  ministering  brother, 
himself  a  prisoner ! 

"We  are  appointed  and  commanded,"  he  observed, 
"  to  be  partakers  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel  (i  Thess. 
iii.  3).  To  be  some  of  the  forwardest  therein  is  an 
honor,  which  I  perceive  God  is  calling  you  to  ;  therefore 
rejoice,  and  so  much  the  more  as  tribulations  abound  (a 
Cor.  vii.  4).     Our  trials  are  like  to  be  sharp,  but  it  is  to 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  417 

be  hoped  so  much  the  shorter.  However,  what  are  the 
worst  and  greatest  we  can  endure  here,  ii.  comparison  of 
the  weight  of  glory,  and  crown  of  righteousness,  pre- 
pared and  reserved  for  those  who  continue  faithful  to  the 
end?  An  interest  in  God  through  Christ,  his  presence 
with,  power  under,  Spirit  in,  and  promises  to  us,  are 
surticient  to  carry  us  comfortably  through  fire  and  water  ; 
herein  let  us  remember  one  another,  and  all  the  Israel  of 
God,  who  are*in  several  countries  now  intended  by  men 
to  be  sheep  for  the  slaughter,  though  the  thought  of  the 
Lord  may  be  otherwise."  ' 

"  During  the  time  of  his  last  illness,"  says  Crosby, 
"  though  his  physician  ordered  he  should  be  kept  from 
speaking  much,  yet  so  zealously  was  he  affected  for  the 
glory  of  God,  and  with  the  love  of  Christ,  that  neither 
his  pains,  bodily  weakness,  nor  the  tender  advice  of 
friends,  could  possibly  restrain  him ;  but  he  would,  not- 
withstanding all,  break  forth  into  high  and  heavenly 
praises,  sometimes  by  prayer,  and  sometimes  by  sing- 
ing. 

"  His  patience  under  all  his  pains  was  very  great.  He 
would  under  the  greatest  pain  bless  God,  and  say  he 
would  not  entertain  one  bad  thought  of  God  for  all  the 
world.  The  sight  of  the  pardon  of  sin  and  recon- 
ciliation with  God  was  so  clear,  and  without  inierrup- 
tion,  even  to  the  last,  that  it  was  as  a  fire  in  his  bosorri 
till  he  spake  of  it;  and  very  hardly  would  he  be  te- 
strained  at  any  time  ;  and  when  he  had  spent  his  strength 
in  speaking,  then  would  he  compose  himself  to  get  a  lit- 
tle more  strength,  that  he  might  go  on  to  speak  further 
of  the  grace  of  God  toward  him,  and  to  give  seasonable 
'  Broadmead  Records,  p.  108. 


4-l8  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

advice  to  all  about  him ;  and  so  continued  till  God  took 
away  his  strength  and  speech  from  him." ' 

Among  the  publications  issued  by  him  were  two,  which 
were  probably  written  in  jail.  One  was  entitled,  "  The 
Bird  in  the  Cage,  Chirping ;"  the  other,  "  The  Sufferer's 
Catechism." 

Abraham  Cheare  was  not  a  scholar,  but  he  was  one 
of  the  working,  suffering  men  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
whom  the  Lord  honored  and  blessed.  He  was  a  native 
of  Plymouth,  and  was  a  fuller  by  trade.  Whether  he 
had  been  a  minister  in  one  of  the  Paedobaptist  denomina- 
tions, or  whether  his  preaching  abilities  showed  them- 
selves immediately  after  his  conversion,  I  am  not  able  to 
decide.  This  only  is  recorded,  that  he  was  invited  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  church  at  Plymouth  in  the  same  year  in 
which  he  was  baptized,  viz.,  1648.  Though  the  Baptists 
in  that  town  were  "  a  poor,  despised  people,"  they  were 
respectably  numerous,  the  invitation  to  Mr.  Cheare  being 
signed  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  members.  It  is  probable 
that  many  of  them  resided  in  the  neighboring  villages, 
and  that  Mr.  Cheare  had  a  somewhat  extensive  diocese. 
He  was  a  diligent  and  faithful  overseer.  After  thirteen 
years  of  peaceful  labors,  during  which  many  souls  were 
converted,  and  a  good  degree  of  religious  prosperity  was 
enjoyed  by  the  church,  Mr.  Cheare  entered  on  his  course 
of  suflierings.  In  1661  he  was  confined  for  three  months 
in  Exeter  jail,  for  "encouraging  religious  assemblies." 
Referring  to  this  imprisonment,  in  a  letter  written  some 
time  afterward,  he  says,  "  Some  from  our  neighboring 
parts  are  sent  to  the  place  of  ancient  experience  [the 
prison],  where  they  have  a  stock  of  prayers  and  presence 
1  History,  i.  380. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  419 

to  begin  upon  ;  they  begin  on  straw,  learning  to  endure 
hardness  as  good  soldiers.  The  Lord  make  that  word 
good  to  them  which  often  hath  been,  in  that  place.,  sweet 
to  me  TExod.  xxiii.  25  ;  Eccles.  iv.  14)." 

The  Act  of  Uniformity  was  the  death-knell  of  Christian 
freedom.  Not  only  the  ejected  ministers,  but  all  others 
who  refused  obedience,  were  subjected  to  persecution. 
Mr.  Chearc  became  again  an  occupant  of  Exeter  jail,  and 
lay  there  three  years,  "  enduring  great  inhumanities  from 
merciless  jailers,"  yet  enjoying  the  consolations  of  the 
gospel  in  an  eminent  degree.  Writing  to  a  friend,  who 
had  known  something  of  persecution,  he  says :  "  I  re- 
ceived yours  of  the  nth  of  the  seventh  month,  and  in  it 
a  testimony  of  teaching  and  supporting  grace  and  pre- 
sence continued  to  you  abroad,  which  he  is  pleased  not  to 
deny  his  poor  worms  here,  in  these  holes  of  the  earth, 
where  violence  hath  thrust  us  in  as  so  many  slaughter- 
houses of  men  ;  but  overruling  grace  makes  them  as  the 
presence-chambers  of  the  great  King,  where  he  brings 
and  feasts  his  favorites  with  the  best  things,  and  pro- 
claims among  them,  '  Thus  shall  it  be  done  to  them  whom 
the  King  delights  to  honor.'  This  honor  have  not  all, 
that  yet  are  saints ;  much  less  have  any  this  mercy,  who 
either  through  the  fear  or  formality  of  their  unconverted 
souls  are  enforced  sbamefully  to  put  off  that  profession 
which  hypocritically  they  did  put  on  in  a  day  of  seeming 
prosperity  ;  not  but  these  walls,  as  a  draw-net,  do  enclose 
bad  and  good  ;  but  at  length  a  discovery  is  made  more 
manifest ;  he  chooseth  in  this  furnace  of  affliction,  a  week 
in  a  prison  giving  plainer  discovery  of  a  man's  spirit 
than  a  month  in  a  church." 

He  was  released  in   1665,  and  returned  to  his  work 


420  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

but  had  scarcely  entered  on  it  when  his  enemies  obtained 
an  order  for  his  perpetual  banishment.  He  was  placed 
on  the  small  island  of  St.  Nicholas,  whence  he  had  a  full 
view  of  his  former  abode,  and  doubtless  often  gazed  on  it 
with  sadness.  But  he  was  not  alone.  Other  Christian 
friends  shared  his  exile.  Their  discomforts  were  many  ; 
the  military  guard  which  was  constantly  in  attendance 
prevented  them  from  engaging  in  religious  exercises  ;  and 
Mr.  Cheare  had  the  additional  trial  of  a  severe  fit  of  sick- 
.  ness,  which  lasted  nine  months,  and  brought  him  to  the 
brink  of  the  grave.  Yet,  though  "  cast  down,"  he  was 
not  "  destroyed."  Divine  comforts  sustained  him,  and 
the  sympathy  of  his  brethren  on  the  mainland  was  prac- 
tically shown  in  contributions  for  his  support.  Thej 
were  not  long  needed.  Another  fit  of  sickness  came  on, 
under  which  he  rapidly  sank.  At  even-tide  it  was  light. 
His  dying  experience  afforded  a  beautiful  illustration  of 
the  power  of  the  gospel.  It  cheered  those  who  watched 
around  his  bed,  and  the  published  record  edified  many. 
He  exchanged  exile  for  a  heavenly  home  March  5,  1668.^ 

*  Iviiney,  ii.  103- 11 6. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Biographical  Notices  continued — John  Tombes,  B.D. — Francis  Bamp- 
field,  A.M.— Henry  D'Anvers— Edward  Terrill— Dr.  Du  Veil— John 
Bunyan. 

JOHN  TOMBES,  B.D.,  was  an  eminently  learned 
man.  His  writings  in  defence  of  believers'  baptism 
were  numerous  and  weighty.  Educated  at  Magdalen 
Hall,  Oxford,  he  was  appointed  to  the  "Catechetical  Lec- 
ture" in  that  hall,  on  the  death  of  his  tutor,  when  he  was 
but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  discharged  the  duty  to 
the  satisfiiction  of  all  concerned.  About  the  year  1631 
he  obtained  the  living  of  Leominster  in  Herefordshire, 
where  he  preached  and  labored  ten  years.  His  zeal  for 
"  a  reformation  in  the  church,  and  the  purging  out  of  all 
human  inventions  in  the  worship  of  God,"  exposed  him 
to  the  fury  of  anti-reformers.  When  the  king's  forces  oc- 
cupied Leominster,  Mr.  Tombes  was  driven  out  of  the 
place  and  most  of  his  property  plundered.  After  a  short 
stay  in  Bristol  he  repaired  to  London,  where  he  preached, 
first  in  Fenchurch  Street,  and  afterward  in  the  Temple 
Church.  But  he  had  been  studying  the  subj'ect  of  bap- 
tism several  years.  Doubts  respecting  the  authority  of 
infant  baptism  troubled  him  while  he  held  the  lectureship 
at  Oxford.     He  sought  satisfaction  with  great  earnestness 

36  421 


42*  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

and  diligence.  The  Scriptures  were  carefully  examined ; 
the  best  writings  on  both  sides  were  read,  and  frequent 
conferences  were  held  with  learned  ministers,  for  which 
there  was  ample  opportunity  at  that  time,  as  the  Assem- 
bly of  Divines  was  then  sitting.  But  his  scruples  took 
faster  hold  of  him,  and  at  length  he  yielded  to  the  con- 
viction of  the  nullity  of  infant  baptism.  Dismission 
from  his  situation  in  the  Temple  followed  the  publication 
of  one  of  his  works  on  the  subject.  He  then  retired  into 
the  country,  and  became  minister  of  Bewdley,  Worces- 
tershire. There  in  1646  he  was  baptized,  and  formed  a 
Baptist  church,  to  which  he  ministered  separately,  still 
retaining  the  charge  of  the  parish  ;  but  the  want  of'  sym- 
pathy between  him  and  the  people  occasioned  his  re- 
moval, and  he  returned  to  Leominster,  at  which  place  he 
closed  his  public  ministry  soon  after  the  Restoration. 
I  have  before  stated  that  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
triers  in  Cromwell's  time.  The  terms  of  uniformity 
were  too  hard  for  him.  He  withdrew  into  private  life. 
"  Having  not  long  before  married  a  rich  widow  at  Salis- 
bury, by  whom  he  enjoyed  a  good  estate,  he  resolved  to 
live  in  rest  and  peace  in  his  old  age."  ^  The  latter  end 
of  his  life  was  spent  in  communion  with  the  Church  of 
England,  although  he  refused  to  accept  any  benefice  or 
dignity,  or  to  occupy  any  public  position.  With  singular 
inconsistency,  as  it  seems  to  me,  he  still  wrote  against 
baptism. 

Mr.  Tombes  wrote  fourteen  treatises  on  baptism.  The 
principal  one  was  entitled,  Antipcedobaptism^  or  a  full 
review  of  the  dispute  about  Infant  Baptism. 

Francis  Bampfield,  A.M.,  was  one  of  the  "  excellent 
*  Crosby,  i.  290. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  423 

of  the  earth"  in  those  days.  He  received  his  education 
at  Wadham  College,  Oxford,  wheie  he  spent  upwards  of 
sever  years  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge.  About  the  year 
1639  he  entered  into  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  celebrated  Bishop  Hall  ordained  him.  Shortly 
afterward  he  obtained  a  living  in  Dorsetshire,  and  a  pre- 
bendal  stall  in  Exeter  Cathedral.  In  1655  he  removed  to 
SherBorne,  where  he  labored,  as  in  his  former  location, 
with  exemplary  diligence,  and  was  greatly  endeared  to 
the  people  of  his  charge. 

But  he  had  long  been  dissatisfied  with  the  National  Es- 
tablishment. The  corruptions  and  abuses  inherited  from 
Rome  were  not  to  be  borne  with.  They  could  not,  in  his 
opinion,  be  classed  among  "  things  indifferent,"  for  they 
struck  at  the  authority  of  the  Redeemer,  as  sole  Head  of 
the  church,  and  were  totally  inconsistent  with  the  spiritu- 
ality of  his  kingdom.  The  enactment  of  the  Act  of  Uni- 
formity, in  1662,  brought  Mr.  Bampfield  to  a  decision. 
He  took  leave  of  his  flock,  and  commenced  preaching  as 
a  Nonconformist. 

In  less  than  a  month  he  was  committed  to  prison,  and 
there,  too,  he  preached  the  gospel.  His  imprisonments 
were  numerous.  One  of  them  lasted  eight  years.  He 
•was  then  an  inmate  of  Dorchester  jail,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  minfsterial  efforts,  and  had  the  happiness  of 
forming  a  church.  He  preached  in  jail  almost  every 
day.  As  soon  as  he  was  liberated  he  resumed  his  public 
work  by  itinerating  in  several  counties.  In  March,  1676, 
he  became  pastor  of  a  Sabbatarian  Baptist  church,  meet- 
\ug  in  Pinner's  Hall,  London,  which  had  been  gathered 
by  his  instrumentality.  In  the  record  of  the  formation 
of  the  church,  it  is  stated  that  "  the  persons  who  then 


424  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

agreed  to  join  together  in  church-communion,  according 
to  the  order  of  the  gospel,  under  the  conduct  of  the  said 
Mr.  Francis  Bampfield  as  their  pastor,  laid  their  church 
state  upon  the  only  sure  foundation,  and  agreed  to  form 
and  regulate  it  by  the  only  ceitain  rule  and  measure,  ex- 
pressing the  nature  and  constitution  of  this  church  in  the 
following  terms :  'We  own  the  Lord  Christ  to  be  the  one 
and  only  Lord  and  Lawgiver  to  our  souls  and  consciences  ; 
and  we  own  the  holy  Scriptures  of  truth,  as  the  one  and 
only  rule  of  faith,  worship,  and  life,  according  to  which 
we  are  to  judge  in  all  cases.'  Accordingly,  these  princi- 
ples were  subscribed  by  the  pastor  and  divers  brethren  on 
behalf  of  the  rest."  ^ 

This  was  his  last  station.  Here  he  met  with  the  usual 
disturbances,  the  congregations  being  often  broken  up 
by  the  officers  of  miscalled  justices.  On  February  17, 
1683,  while  he  was  preaching,  a  constable  entered  and 
interrupted  him.  "I  have  a  warrant  from  the  lord 
mayor  to  disturb  your  meeting,"  said  the  constable.  "  I 
have  a  warrant  from  Jesus  Christ  to  go  on,"  replied  the 
preacher,  and  was  proceeding  with  his  discourse,  when  he 
was  seized  and  taken,  with  six  of  his  brethren,  to  the  lord 
mayor,  who  fined  them  ten  pounds  each.  Nevertheless, 
they  met  again  in  the  afternoon,  but  were  compelled  to 
separate,  on  which  they  retired  to  Mr.  Bampfield's  resi- 
dence, where  he  finished  the  exercises  of  the  day.  That 
day  week  he  was  apprehended  once  more,  and  committed 
to  Newgate.  At  the  next  quarter  sessions  he  and  several 
others  were  placed  at  the  bar,  and  the  oath  of  allegiance 
tendered  to  them.  They  declined  taking  it,  because  it  was 
understood  to  comprise  an  obligation  to  conform  to  the 
^  Ivimey,  i.  170. 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  435 

Church  of  England,  to  which  they  could  not  bind  them- 
selves ;  whereupon  the  recorder  passed  sentence  to  this 
effect :  "  That  they  were  out  of  the  protection  of  the  king's 
majesty  ;  that  all  their  goods  and  chattels  were  forfeited  ; 
and  that  they  were  to  remain  in  jail  during  their  lives,  or 
during  the  king's  pleasure."  It  was  not  "the  king's 
pleasure"  to  release  them.  Death  in  jail  was  a  common 
thing  during  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. 
Mr.  Bampfield  died  in  Newgate,  February  16,  1684,  being 
in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

He  was  a  learned  man  and  a  hard  student.  The 
titles  of  two  of  his  works  seem  to  indicate  that  he  had 
embraced  the  views  which  were  afterward  more  fully 
developed  by  Mr.  Hutchinson,  and  are  so  often  referred 
to  in  Parkhurst's  Hebrew  and  Greek  Lexicons.  The 
one  is — All  t?i  One;  All  useful  sciences  and  profitable 
arts  in  one  book  of  yehovah-.^loim,  copied  out,  and 
commented  upon  in  created  Beings,  comprehended  and 
discovered  in  the  fullness  and  perfection  of  Scripture 
knowledge;  1677:  folio.  The  other — The  House  of 
Wisdom.  The  House  of  the  Sons  of  the  Prophets :  an 
House  of  exquisite  inquiry,  and  of  deep  Research; 
where  the  mind  of  Jehovah-yEloiin  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures of  Truth,  in  the  original  words  and  phrases,  and 
their  proper  significancy,  is  diligently  studied,  faith- 
fully compared,  and  aptly  put  together  for  the  further 
promoting  and  higher  advance  ment  of  Scripture  know- 
ledge, of  all  useful  Arts,  and  profitable  Sciences,  in  one 
Book  of  Books,  the  Word  of  Christ,  copied  out,  and 
commented  upon  in  created  Beings ;  1681  :  folio. 

Henry  D'Anvers  is  best  known  as  an  author,  his 
Treatise  on  Baptism  being  regarded  as  the  most  learned 
36* 


+26  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

and  complete  work  which  at  that  time  had  been  pub- 
lished on  the  subject.  The  full  title  is — A  Treatise  on 
Baptism;  wherein  that  of  Believers  and  that  of  Infants 
is  exami?ted  by  the  Scriptures^  with  the  history  of  both 
out  of  Antiquity ;  tnaking  it  appear  that  Ijifants^  Bap- 
tistn  was  tiot  practiced  for  nearly  fotir  hundred  years 
after  Christ;  with  the  fabulous  traditions  and  erro- 
neous grounds  upon  which  it  was,  by  the  Pope's  Canons 
{with  Gossips,  Chrysm,  Exorcism,  Baptizing  of  Bells, 
and  other  Popish  Rites),  founded:  and  that  the 
famous  Waldensian,  and  old  British  Churches,  Lollards 
and  Wicklifians  and  other  Christians,  witnessed 
against  it:  with  the  History  of  Christiajtity  among 
the  Ancient  Britons  and  Waldensians.  Mr.  D'Anvers 
had  been  a  colonel  in  the  Parliamentary  army,  and  was 
some  time  governor  of  Stafford.  While  he  held  that 
office  he  became  a  Baptist.  He  was  very  strenuous  for 
laying  on  of  hands  after  baptism.  He  was  reputed  to  be 
a  Fifth-Monarchy  man,  and  it  appears  evident  that  he  ex- 
pected the  personal  reign  of  the  Redeemer  upon  earth.  In 
1675  he  was  apprehended  and  committed  to  the  Tower 
— probably  on  suspicion  of  treasonable  practices,  which 
Venner's  insurrection  had  led  the  government  to  connect 
with  Fifth-Monarchy  principles — but  as  no  specific  charge 
was  brought  against  him,  he  was  released  on  bail.  It  is 
stated  by  Crosbj'^  that  he  was  one  of  the  elders  of  a  Bap- 
tist church,  near  Aldgate,  London.  When  he  was 
chosen  to  that  office,  does  not  appear.  In  the  reign  of 
Tames  II.  he  united  with  some  others  in  consultations 
and  plans  relative  to  the  Duke  of  Monmouth's  enterprise, 
and  was  so  far  compromised  thereby  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  flee  to  Holland,  where  he  died  in  1686.     The 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  427 

high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  princi|)al  Bap- 
tists of  that  period  is  shown  by  a  "Vindication"  of  his 
work  referred  to  above,  to  which  were  appended  the 
names  among  others  of  Hanserd  Knollys,  William  Kiffin, 
and  Thomas  Delaune.  The  Council  of  the  Hanserd 
Knollys  Society  intended  to  republish  the  Treatise  on 
£aptism,  competently  edited  by  a  learned  antiquarian  of 
our  denomination  ;  but  the  inadequate  support  given  to 
the  Society  prevented  the  execution  of  the  design. 

Mr.  D'Anvers'  complicity  in  the  Monmouth  rebellion 
will  be  differently  judged  of  according  to  men's  politics. 
That  James  II.  was  a  tyrant  and  deserved  expulsion,  no 
one  now  doubts ;  but  where  the  obligation  to  entire  sub- 
mission ceases,  and  the  lawfulness  of  resistance  begins, 
has  not  yet,  I  believe,  been  decided.  We  who  have  lived 
all  of  our  days  in  sunshine,  are  but  ill  qualified  to  criticize 
the  behavior  of  those  who  endured  the  peltings  of  the 
storm. 

I  have  read  with  intense  interest  the  Records  of  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Broadmead,  Bristol.  For  those 
Records  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Edward  Terrill,  who 
was  for  eighteen  years  a  ruling  elder  of  that  church.  He 
was  baptized  in  the  year  1658,  chosen  to  the  office  of 
elder  in  1667,  and  died  1685.  During  the  harassing  per- 
secutions through  which  the  church  passed,  he  was  truly 
its  earthly  mainstay.  His  house  was  open  for  worship 
whenever  it  was  deemed  more  prudent  to  meet  in  a 
private  manner.  When  the  pastor  was  in  prison  or  com- 
pelled to  be  absent,  he  was  ready  to  occupy  the  post  of 
labor  or  danger.  He  was  wise  in  counsel,  kind-hearted 
to  the  poor,  and  fertile  in  expedients  to  baffle  persecutors 
and  provide  for  the  church's  spiritual  wants.     A  Disserv 


428  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

ter  and  a  Baptist  from  conviction,  he  stood  firm  to  his 
principles,  though  despoiled  of  his  property,  and  not  un 
frequently  committed  to  prison  for  maintaining  them.  In 
many  instances,  when  tyrant-magistrates  thought  they 
might  stretch  their  power  with  impunity,  he  checked 
their  violence  by  employing  the  best  legal  advisers,  and 
thus  securing  the  church  from  unlawful  oppression.  In  a 
word,  he  lived  for  the  cause,  and  his  memory  is  blessed. 

Having  acquired  considerable  property  by  his  marriage, 
he  resolved  to  devote  it  to  the  Lord.  By  a  deed  exe- 
cuted in  1678,  he  placed  a  large  portion — perhaps  the 
whole — of  his  estates  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  the  income 
derivable  therefrom  to  become  available,  as  it  should 
seem,  after  the  death  of  his  widow,  and  to  be  expended 
on  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  Christian  ministry. 
This  was  done,  he  said,  "  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
propagation  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
for  the  true  love  and  affection  he  hath  and  beareth  unto 
the  congregation  of  which  he  is  a  member."  With  this 
object  in  view,  he  directed  that  £100  a-year  should  be 
paid  to  "  a  holy  learned  man,  well  skilled  in  the  tongues, 
viz.,  Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  doth  own  and  practice  the 
truth  of  believers'  baptism,  as  a  pastor  or  teacher  to  the 
congregation."  The  pastor  thus  employed  was  to  spend 
three  and  a  half  days  in  each  week  in  the  instruction  of 
young  men,  not  exceeding  twelve,  members  of  any  bap- 
tized congregation  in  or  about  Bristol.  Ten  pounds  a 
year  were  also  to  be  paid  to  any  four  of  the  students 
whose  friends  might  be  unable  to  support  them.  These 
benefactions  may  be  said  to  have  laid  the  foundation  of 
Bristol  College.  B}  them,  Mr.  Terrill's  usefulness  is 
perpetuated. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  429 

The  history  of  Dr.  Du  Veil  is  extremely  interesting. 
He  was  a  native  of  France  and  of  Jewish  extraction. 
His  parents  were  probably  in  affluent  circumstances,  as 
it  is  evident  that  he  received  a  very  liberal  education. 
The  study  of  the  prophetical  writings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment convinced  him  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  When 
he  avowed  that  conviction  and  his  determination  to 
embrace  Christianity,  his  father  was  so  enraged  that  he 
attempted  to  kill  him,  and  would  have  accomplished  his 
purpose  had  he  not  been  prevented  by  some  persons 
present.  Du  Veil  joined  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  soon  became  an  eloquent  and  popular  preacher. 
He  acquired  considerable  fame  also  as  an  author  by  a 
Commentary  on  the  Gospels  of  Mark  and  Luke,  in  which 
he  displayed  much  learning  and  controversial  tact.  The 
University  of  Anjou  bestowed  on  him  the  degree  of  D.D., 
and  he  was  urged  to  enter  into  the  lists  with  the  Hugue- 
nots, whose  powerful  defences  of  Protestant  truths  gave 
no  small  trouble  to  Roman  ecclesiastics.  He  engaged 
in  preparation  for  that  work,  but  found  to  his  astonish- 
ment that  Protestantism  was  a  purer  form  of  Christianity 
than  he  had  yet  been  acquainted  with.  Honestly  follow- 
ing his  convictions,  he  withdrew  from  France  to  Holland, 
since  his  life  would  have  been  in  danger  had  he  contin- 
ued  in  the  former  country,  and  publicly  abjured  Popery. 
Shortly  afterward  he  proceeded  to  England,  where  he 
was  received  with  great  respect  and  liberi  lly  befriended 
by  many  prelates  and  dignitaries  of  the  English  Church. 

He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  that  church.  In 
1679  he  published  A  Literal  Explication  of  Solo7non's 
Song.,  and,  in  the  following  year,  A  Literal  Exposition 
of  the  Minor  Prophets.     These  works  greatly  enhanced 


430  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

his  reputation.  The  bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Compton, 
was  so  pleased  with  them  that  he  offered  every  encour- 
agement to  the  learned  author  to  continue  his  biblical 
researches,  and  gave  him  the  free  use  of  his  library  fof 
that  purpose.  This  led  to  another  and  final  change. 
In  the  bishop's  library  he  found  the  works  of  Baptist 
authors,  and  the  perusal  of  them  convinced  him  that  the 
Baptists  were  in  the  right.  A  pious  young  woman,  a 
servant  in  the  bishop's  family,  introduced  him  to  the 
church  with  which  she  was  connected,  and  of  which  the 
Rev.  John  Gosnold  was  pastor.  Dr.  Du  Veil  was  bap- 
tized by  him,  and  joined  the  church,  by  that  act  separat- 
ing himself  from  the  rich  and  powerful,  by  whose  means 
he  would  have  most  probably  obtained  ecclesiastical  ad- 
vancement. In  16S5  his  Literal  Explanation  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  was  published.  This  is  a  valuable 
commentary.  It  has  been  reprinted  by  the  Ilanserd 
KnoUys  Society. 

I  have  been  vmable  to  obtain  further  information  re- 
specting Dr.  Du  Veil.  Whether  he  preached  after  he 
became  a  Baptist,  or  confined  himself  to  literary  labor,  is 
not  recorded  in  any  works  to  which  I  have  had  access. 
Doubtless  he  devoted  his  talents  to  the  diffusion  and 
defence  of  the  truth,  and  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  was 
usefully  employed.  It  is  not  often  that  we  meet  with 
such  a  case.  There  have  been  many  in  all  ages  who  have 
seen  the  light,  but  failed  to  follow  it  through  fear  of 
poverty  or  suflTering.  Dr.  Du  Veil  was  not  one  of  that 
class.  Every  change  placed  him  lower  in  a  worldly  point 
of  view ;  but  that  did  not  move  him.  Truth  was  to  be 
embraced  and  conscience  obeyed  at  all  risks.  Peace  to 
his  memory ! 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  43 1 

John  Bunyan's  fame  is  world-wide.  He  was  truly  a 
God-taught  man.  His  "  Pilgrim"  tells  his  tale  in  nearly 
all  languages,  and  it  is  listened  to  with  rapt  interest  and 
admiration  by  men  of  every  clime  and  of  all  varieties  of 
mental  culture.  It  is  the  peasant's  food  and  the  philoso- 
pher's luxury. 

The  history  of  his  life  is  so  well  known  that  it  is  quite 
unnecessary  to  reproduce  it  here.  I  will  only  give  a 
chronological  note  or  two.  John  Bunyan  was  born  at 
Elstow,  Bedfordshire,  in  the  year  1628.  He  was  con- 
verted to  God  in  1653,  and  soon  afterward  began  to 
preach.  On  the  13th  of  November,  1660,  he  was  com- 
mitted to  Bedford  jail  for  "  teaching  men  to  worship  God 
contrary  to  the  law."  There,  with  no  other  aids  than  the 
Bible  and  Foxe's  Book  of  Martyrs.,  he  wrote  the  Pil- 
grim^ s  Progress.,  and  other  works  which  have  immortal- 
ized his  name.  He  was  released  in  December,  1673, 
and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  manifold  labors 
for  the  cause  of  Christ.  As  pastor  of  the  church  at  Bed- 
ford, to  which  office  he  was  chosen  December  21,  1671, 
while  yet  a  prisoner,  "  he  was  instant  in  season,  out  of 
season,"  and  the  church  greatly  flourished  under  his  min- 
istry. When  he  visited  London  people  flocked  in  crowds 
to  hear  him  ;  three  thousand  persons  were  known  to  be 
assembled  for  that  purpose  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Not  unfrequently  the  learned  and  the  great  were 
among  them.  Charles  II.  once  asked  Dr.  Owen  how  it 
was  that  he  was  so  fond  of  hearing  a  tinker  preach. 
"  May  it  please  your  majesty,"  the  doctor  replied,  "  had  I 
the  tinker's  abilities  for  preaching,  I  would  gladly  relin- 
quish all  my  learning." 

He  had  been  engaged  in  a  Christian  work  when  ho 


43*  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

*ell  under  the  death-stroke.  A  profligate  son  had  so 
offended  his  father  that  he  threatened  to  disinherit  him. 
Bunyan  affected  a  reconciliation.  He  had  been  to  Read- 
ing on  that  benevolent  errand,  and  was  returning  home 
through  London,  when  he  was  attacked  by  fever,  caused 
by  exposui'e  to  heavy  rain  on  his  journey,  and  died  at  a 
friend's  house  after  a  few  days'  illness.  This  was  in 
August,  i6S8,  about  three  months  before  the  landing  of 
William,  Prince  of  Orange,  afterward  William  III.  How 
his  heart  would  have  been  gladdened  could  he  have  wit- 
nessed the  nation's  deliverance ! 

One  of  the  'ast  treatises  which  he  prepared  for  the 
press  was  entitled  Of  Antichrist  and  his  ruin.  It  ex- 
presses, in  his  own  plain  and  nervous  style,  those  senti- 
ments respecting  Popery  and  religious  freedom  which 
Baptists  havQ  ever  maintained. 

We  may  indulge  in  a  pardonable  pride  when  we  boast 
of  John  Bunyan  as  one  of  ours.  We  have  no  name  more 
honored.  But  I  will  not  attempt  to  write  his  eulogy. 
'  His  works  praise  him,  and  will  praise  him  as  long  as  the 
church  of  God  abides  on  earth.  Cowper's  lines  are  well 
known : 

"  O  thou,  whom,  borne  on  fancy's  eager  wing 
Back  to  the  season  of  life's  happy  spring, 
I  pleased  remember,  and  while  memory  yet 
Holds  fast  her  office  here,  can  ne'er  forget ; 
Ingenious  dreamer,  in  whose  well-told  tale 
Sweet  fiction  and  sweet  truth  alike  prevail ; 
Whose  humorous  vein,  strong  sense,  and  simple  style 
May  teach  the  gayest,  make  the  gravest  smile ; 
Witty,  and  well  employed,  and,  like  the  Lord, 
Speaking  in  parables  his  slighted  word ; 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD. 


433 


I  name  thee  not,  lest  so  despised  a  name 
Should  move  a  sneer  at  thy  deserved  fame  ; 
Yet  e'en  in  transitory  life's  late  day, 
That  mingles  all  my  brown  with  sober  gray. 
Revere  the  man  whose  Pilgrim  marks  the  road, 
And  guides  the  Progress  of  the  soul  to  God." 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Biographical  Notices  Concluded— Thomas  Grantham— Hanserd  Knollys 
— Benjamin  Keach — William  Kiffin — Anecdotes. 

I  HAVE  given  some  account  of  the  principal  ministers 
of  our  denomination  in  England  who  died  before  the 
glorious  Revolution.  The  names  of  several  others,  who 
survived  that  event,  will  be  recorded  here,  because  their 
labors  as  public  men  must  be  chiefly  referred  to  the 
period  now  under  review. 

Thomas  Grantham  was  for  many  years  the  principal 
minister  among  the  General  Baptists.  He  was  baptized 
at  Boston,  Lincolnshire,  in  the  year  1652,  and  almost  im- 
mediately afterward  commenced  his  ministerial  labors. 
In  1656  he  became  pastor  of  a  church  at  North  Elm 
Chapel.  The  petition  presented  to  Charles  II.  in  the 
early  part  of  his  reign,  said  to  be  "  approved  by  more 
than  20,000,"  was  written  by  him.  He  was  several  times 
imprisoned,  and  otherwise  annoyed,  for  his  principles  and 
practices  as  a  Baptist.  So  highly  esteemed  was  he  by 
his  brethren  that  in  1666  he  was  removed  from  the  pas- 
toral office  and  appointed  "  messenger,"  in  which  capacity 
he  labored  many  years,  founding  churches  in  Lincoln- 
shire, Norfolk,  Warwickshire,  and  other  counties,  and  ex- 
ercising a  general  superintendence  over  the  interests  of 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  435 

the  denomination.  He  finally  settled  at  Norwich,  where 
he  died,  January  17,  1692. 

Mr.  Grantham  wrote  some  useful  works,  cuiefly  in 
explanation  or  defence  of  Baptist  sentiments.  The 
largest  was  a  folio  volume,  entitled  "  CJwistlanisvius 
Primitivus."  ^ 

Hanserd  Knollys  was  a  native  of  Chalkwell,  in 
Lincolnshire.  While  pursuing  his  studies  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge  he  experienced  a  change  of  heart, 
having  become  acquainted  with  "  several  gracious  Chris- 
tians, then  called  Puritans"  whose  conversation  was 
blessed  to  him.  In  1629  he  was  ordained  by  the  bishop 
of  Peterborough.  At  Humberstone,  where  he  lived 
several  years,  he  was  accustomed  to  preach  three,  and 
even  four,  times  on  the  Lord's  Day,  besides  sermons  on 
saints'  days  and  at  funerals.  But  scruples  and  doubts 
agitated  his  mind.  At  length  he  reached  the  conviction 
that  his  position  in  the  Church  of  England  was  not  in 
accordance  with  the  New  Testament,  and  he  renounced 
his  ordination,  resolving  not  to  preach  any  more  till  he 
had  "  received  a  clear  call  and  commission  from  Christ 
to  preach  the  gospel." 

During  his  silence  he  underwent  much  mental  distress, 
which  was  removed  by  the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  Wheel- 
wright, one  of  the  Puritan  ministers.  He  then  recom- 
menced preaching.  "  I  began  to  preach  the  doctrine  of 
free  grace,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  new  and  ever- 
lasting covenant,  for  three  or  four  years  together,  whereby 
\ery  many  sinners  were  converted,  and  many  believers 
were  establi'shed  in  the  faith." 

The  persecution  was  so  fierce  that  he  joined  the  emi- 
'  Taylor's  History  of  the  General  Baptists,  i.  308-316. 


43^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

grants  who  were  at  that  time  flocking  to  New  England, 
and  arrived  at  Boston  in  the  spring  of  1638.  He  was 
not  allowed  to  remain  there,  the  ministers  having  unac- 
countably judged  him  to  be  an  Antinomian,  and  desired 
the  magistrates  to  send  him  away.  But  he  found  a  home 
at  Dover,  on  the  Piscataqua,  where  he  preached  with 
much  acceptance  upwards  of  three  years.  Cotton  M  ^ther 
having  referred  to  "  ministers  from  other  parts  of  the 
world"  who  had  arrived  in  New  England,  says :  "  Of 
these  there  were  some  godly  Anabaptists,  as  namely,  Mr. 
Hanserd  Knollys  (whom  one  of  his  adversaries  called 
Absurd  Knowless)  of  Dover,  and  Mr.  Miles  of  Swans- 
ley.  Both  of  these  have  a  respectful  character  in  the 
churches  of  this  wilderness."  ^  It  is  observable  that  Mr. 
Knollys'  arrival  was  in  the  spring  of  1638.  Roger  Wil- 
liams' baptism  did  not  take  place  till  the  winter  of  that 
year. 

Mr.  Knollys  returned  to  England  about  the  close  of 
1641.  He  settled  in  London,  where  he  gained  his  liveli- 
hood by  teaching  school.  His  next  employment  was  that 
of  chaplain  in  the  Parliamentary  army.  When  he  left 
the  army  he  established  himself  again  in  London  as  a 
schoolmaster,  and  preached  in  the  churches  as  he  found 
opportunity.  His  labors  were  very  acceptable  to  the 
people,  but  were  so  disapproved  of  by  the  Assembly  of 
Divines,  because  he  preached  against  national  churches, 
that  he  withdrew  from  connection  with  them,  an  1  opened 
a  meeting-house  in  Great  St.  Helen  Street,  where  he 
commonly  had  a  congregation  of  a  thousand  hearers.  A 
Baptist  church  w^is  formed  there,  over  which  "he  was  or- 
dained pastor  in  1645.     He  held  that  office  till  his  death, 

"^  Magnalia,  book  iii.  p.  243  (Ed.  1855). 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  437 

in  1691,  though  he  was  often  prevented,  by  the  operation 
of  unjust  laws,  from  fulfilling  its  duties.  On  several  oc- 
casions he  found  it  necessary  to  retire  into  the  country  for 
a  while,  and  during  the  hottest  period  of  the  persecution 
he  left  England  and  lived  two  or  three  yeais  in  Germany 
and  Holland.  He  had  his  share  also  of  "  bonds  and  im- 
prisonments." But  God  graciously  sustained  him.  His 
religious  enjoyments  abounded,  and  his  labors  were  emi- 
nently successful. 

"  My  wilderness,  sea,  city,  and  prison  mercies,"  he  ob- 
served, "  afforded  me  very  many  and  strong  consolations. 
The  spiritual  sights  of  the  glory  of  God,  the  divine  sweet- 
ness of  the  spiritual  and  providential  presence  of  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  joys  and  comforts  of  the  holy 
und  eternal  Spirit,  communicated  to  my  soul,  together 
with  suitable  and  seasonable  Scriptures  of  truth,  have  so 
often  and  so  powerfully  revived,  refreshed,  and  strength- 
ened my  heart  in  the  days  of  my  pilgrimage,  trials,  and 
sufferings,  that  the  sense,  yea,  the  life  and  sweetness 
thereof,  abides  still  upon  my  heart,  and  hath  engaged  my 
soul  to  live  by  faith,  to  walk  humbly,  and  to  desire  and 
endeavor  to  excel  in  holiness  to  God's  glory  and  the  ex- 
ample of  others.  Though,  I  confess,  many  of  the  Lord's 
ministers  and  some  of  the  Lord's  people  have  excelled 
and  outshined  me,  with  whom  God  hath  not  been  at  so 
much  cost,  nor  pains,  as  he  hath  been  at  with  me.  I  am 
a  very  unprofitable  servant,  but  yet  by  grace  I  am  what 
I  am." 

Mr.  Knollys  gives  the  following  account  of  his  recovery 
from  a  dangerous  illness.  I  shall  copy  it  without 
comment : 

"  Two  learned,  well-practiced,  and  'udicious  doctors 
37  • 


438  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

of  physic  had  daily  visited  me,  and  consulted  several  days 
together,  and  I  was  fully  persuaded  that  they  did  what 
they  possibly  could  to  effect  a  cure,  and  knew  also  that 
God  did  not  succeed  their  honest  and  faithful  endeavors 
with  his  blessing.  Although  God  had  given  a  signal  and 
singular  testimony  of  his  special  blessing  by  each  of  them 
unto  other  of  their  patients,  at  least  sixteen,  at  the  same 
time,  I  resolved  to  take  no  more  physi;,  but  would  apply 
to  that  holy  ordinance  of  God,  appointed  by  Jesus  Christ, 
the  great  Physician  of  value,  in  James  v.  14,  15  :  'Is  any 
sick  among  you  ?  let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church, 
and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall 
save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  ;  and  if 
he  have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him  ;' — 
and  I  sent  for  Mr.  Kiffin  and  Mr.  Vavasor  Powell,  who 
prayed  over  me,  and  anointed  me  with  oil  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  The  Lord  did  hear  prayer,  and  heal  me ;  for 
there  were  many  godly  ministers  and  gracious  saints  that 
prayed  day  and  night  for  me  (with  submission  to  the  will 
of  God),  that  the  Lord  would  spare  my  life,  and  make 
me  more  serviceable  to  his  church,  and  to  his  saints, 
whose  prayers  God  heard  ;  and  as  an  answer  to  their 
prayers  I  was  perfectly  healed,  but  remained  weak  long 
after." 

As  the  poverty  of  the  church  prevented  them  from 
providing  adequately  for  his  support,  Mr.  Knollys  con- 
tinued in  his  employment  as  a  schoolmaster  almost  to 
the  close  of  life.  His  efforts  were  so  successful  that  he 
realized  considerable  property.  Reviewing  his  history 
some  time  after  his  wife's  death — which  took  place  in 


THjZ    troublous  period.  439 

1671 — he  says :  "  To  my  eldest  son  I  had  given  sixty 
pounds  per  annum  during  life,  which  he  enjoyed  about 
twenty-one  years  ere  he  died.  To  my  next  son  that  lived 
to  be  married,  I  gave  the  full  value  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  in  money,  house,  school,  and  household 
goods,  and  left  him  fifty  scholars  in  the  school-house.  To 
my  only  daughter  then  living  I  gave,  upon  her  marriage, 
above  three  hundred  pounds  in  money,  annuity,  plate, 
linen,  and  household  stufis,  and  left  her  husband  fifty 
scholars  in  the  said  school-house,  in  partnership  with  my 
said  son.  To  my  youngest  son  that  lived  to  be  married  I 
gave  more  than  three  hundred  pounds  sterling ;  besides, 
it  cost  me  sixty  pounds  in  his  apprenticeship,  and  forty 
pounds  afterward.  Thus  my  heavenly  Father  made  up 
my  former  losses  with  his  future  blessings,  even  in  out- 
ward substance,  besides  a  good  increase  of  grace  and  ex- 
perience, in  the  space  of  the  forty  years  that  I  and  my 
dear  faithful  wife  lived  together.  We  removed  several 
times,  with  our  whole  family ;  whereof,  ortce  from  Lin- 
colnshire to  London,  and  from  London  to  New  England  ; 
once  from  England  into  Wales ;  twice  fi'om  London  into 
Lincolnshire ;  once  from  London  to  Holland,  and  from 
thence  into  Germany,  and  thence  to  Rotterdam,  and 
thence  to  London  again.  In  which  removings  I  gained 
great  experiences  of  God's  faithfulness,  goodness,  and 
truth,  in  his  great  and  precious  promises ;  and  I  have 
gained  some  experience  of  my  own  heart's  deceitfulness 
and  the  power  of  my  own  corruptions,  and  the  reigning 
power  of  Christ,  and  his  captivating  and  subduing  my 
sins — making  conquests  of  the  devil,  world,  and  sin,  and 
then  giving  me  the  victory,  and  causing  me  to  triumph, 
and  to  bless  his  holy  name.  ...  I  would  not  want  those 


440  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

experien  :es  and  teachings  that  my  soul  hath  enjo}'ed  for 
all  that  I  ever  suffered." 

Among  the  works  published  by  Mr.  Knollys  was  a 
Grammar  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  languages. 
It  was  written  in  Latin.' 

Mr.  Knollys  died  September  19,  1691.  He  was  in 
the  ninety-third  year  of  his  age.  The  "  Hanserd  Knollys 
Society,"  founded  in  the  year  1845  for  the  republication 
of  the  works  of  early  Baptist  authors,  was  named  after 
him. 

Knollys,  Keach,  and  Kiffin  might  be  called  "  the  first 
three"  among  the  Baptist  ministers  of  those  days.  Their 
talents  and  characters  gave  them  influence,  which  ap- 
pears to  have  been  wisely  exerted  for  the  benefit  of  the 
denomination.  They  were  honored  while  living,  and 
their  "  memory  is  blessed." 

Benjamin  Keach's  sufferings  have  been  detailed  in  a 
former  section.  He  was  twenty-four  years  of  age  when 
he  endured  the  pillory.  Born  in  1640,  he  was  converted 
in  his  fifteenth  year,  and  commenced  preaching,  at  the 
invitation  of  the  church,  three  years  afterward,  though  he 
did  not  imdertake  a  pastoral  charge  till  1668,  when  he 
was  chosen  pastor  of  a  church  in  the  borough  of  South- 
wark,  London.     He  remained  there  till  his  death. 

An  occurrence  during  his  journey  to  London  illustrates 
the  state  of  society  and  the  deficiency  of  the  police  ar- 
rangements in  England  at  that  time.  Mr.  Keach,  his 
wife,  and  three  children  were  traveling  to  London  by  the 
stage-coach.  On  their  way  they  were  attacked  by  a  band 
of  highwaymen,  who  robbed  the  passengers  of  all  their 
money  and  valuables,  leaving  Mr.  Keach,  who  had  just 
1  Ivimey,  ii.  347-359- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  44 1 

sold  his  effects  for  the  purpose  of  settling  in  London,  and 
had  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  in  his  pocket,  in  a  state  of 
utter  destitut-on.  But  friends  relieved  his  immediate 
necessities,  and  assisted  him  in  bringing  an  action  against 
the  county  for  the  amount  of  his  loss,  in  which  he  suc- 
ceeded. Such  a  procedure  would  be  accounted  strange 
in  these  days. 

Mr.  Keach's  labors  were  much  blessed.  For  four 
years  the  church  over  which  he  presided  met  in  private 
houses,  often  changing  the  place  of  assembly  to  avoid 
the  pursuit  of  informers.  In  1672,  when  Charles  II. 
issued  a  "  Declaration  of  Indulgence,"  a  meeting-house 
was  erected  for  the  church.  It  was  enlarged  several 
times,  as  the  congregation  increased,  and  at  length  was 
capable  of  accommodating  nearly  a  thousand  persons. 

Preaching  was  not  all  his  work.  Mr.  Keach  was  a 
voluminous  writer.  Some  of  his  works  were  "  polemical," 
some  "practical,"  some  "poetical."  The  "polemical" 
treated  of  various  subjects,  then  warmly  discussed — in- 
cluding the  laying  on  of  hands,  the  lawfulness  of  singing 
in  public  worship,  the  authority  of  the  Christian  Sabbath, 
and  baptism.  On  the  last-mentioned  theme  he  wrote  fre- 
quently and  with  great  earnestness.  The  "  practical  " 
portion  of  his  works  comprised,  besides  minor  productions, 
his  Tropologia;  or.,  Key  to  Open  Scripture  Metaphors ; 
his  Gospel  Mysteries  Unveiled;  or.,  an  Exposition  of 
all  the  Parables;  and  his  Travels  of  True  Godliness ^ 
and  Travels  of  Ungodliness.  The  first  two  were  bulky 
books,  which  were  rather  distinguished  for  ingenuity  than 
just  criticism.  They  have  been  reprinted  several  times, 
but,  however  valuable  in  a  devotional  or  experimental 
point  of  view,  cannot  be  recommended  as  models  of  sound 


44*  B APT  IS  T  Hi  S  TOR  T. 

exegesis.  The  two  others  are  somewhat  in  Bunyan's  style. 
They  are  still  prized  by  serious  readers.  The  most  im- 
portant of  his  "  poetical  compositions  was  Zion  in  Dis- 
tress;  or^  the  Groans  of  the  Protestant  Churchy  first 
published  in  1666.  This  was  written,  as  he  says  in  the 
preface,  because  "  he  perceived  Popery  was  ready  to  bud, 
and  would,  if  God  prevented  not,  spring  up  afresh  in  the 
land."  After  the  Revolution,  his  prolific  pen  produced 
another  poem,  entitled  Distressed  Sion  Relieved;  or^ 
the    Garment  of  Praise  for  the  Spirit  of  Heaviness. 

Wherein  are  discovered  the  great  causes  of  the  ChurcJUs 
trouble  and  misery  under  the  late  doleful  Dispe7isatioti  : 
with  a  Complete  History  of  and  Lamentation  for^ 
those  Renowned  Worthies  that  fell  in  England,  by 
Popish  rage  and  cruelty,  from  1680/0  16S8  ;  together 
with  aft  Account  of  the  late  admirable  and  stupendous 
Providence  which  hath  wrought   such  a-  Sudden  and 

Wonderful  Deliverance  for  this  Nation  and  God's 
Sion  therein.  He  also  published  a  collection  entitled 
Spiritual  Melody,  containing  nearly  three  hundred 
hymns. 

Mr.  Keach's  constitution  was  weak  and  his  sickness 
frequent.  In  1689  his  life  was  despaired  of;  the  phy- 
sicians had  exhausted  their  skill ;  and  his  relatives  took 
leave  of  him.  expecting  his  departure  to  be  near  at  hand, 
when,  as  Crosby  relates,  "  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hanserd 
Knollys,  seeing  his  friend  and  brother  near  to  all  appear- 
ance expiring,  betook  himself  to  prayer,  and,  in  an  earnest 
and  very  extraordinary  manner,  begged  that  God  would 
spare  him  and  add  unto  his  daj^s  the  time  granted  unto 
1  is  servant  Hezekiah.  As  soon  as  he  ended  his  prayer, 
he  said,  '  Brother  Keach,  I  shall  be   in   heaven  before 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  443 

you,'  and  quickly  after  left  him.  So  remarkable  was  the 
answer  of  God  to  this  good  man's  prayer  that  I  cannot 
omit  it ;  though  it  may  be  discredited  by  some,  there  are 
yet  living  incontestible  evidence  of  the  fact : — for  Mr. 
Keach  recovered  of  that  illness,  and  lived  just  fifteen 
years  afterward  ;  and  then  it  pleased  God  to  visit  him 
with  that  short  sickness  which  put  an  end  to  his  life." 
He  died  July  18,  1704,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his 
age. 

The  historian  Crosby  was  a  member  of  the  church 
under  Mr.  Reach's  pastoral  care.  His  delineation  of  the 
character  of  his  pastor  was  the  result  of  personal  and 
close  observ^-xtion.  It  is  manifestly  a  picture  from  life,  and 
is  worthy  of  preservation  : 

"  To  collect  every  particular  transaction  of  this  worthy 
minister's  life  cannot  be  expected  at  such  a  distance  of 
time ;  nay,  even  to  collect  all  that  was  excellent  and 
amiable  in  him  is  too  great  a  task  to  be  now  undertaken. 
I  shall  only  observe  that  he  was  a  person  of  great  integ- 
rity of  soul — a  Nathanael  indeed  ;  his  conversation  not 
frothy  and  vain,  but  serious,  without  being  morose  or 
sullen.  He  began  to  be  religious  early,  and  continued 
faithful  to  the  last.  He  was  not  shocked  by  the  fury  of 
his  persecutors,  though  he  suffered  so  much  from  them 
for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Preaching  the  gospel  was  the 
pleasure  of  his  soul,  and  his  heart  was  so  engaged  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry  that  from  the  time  of  his  first 
appearing  in  public  to  the  end  of  his  days  his  life  was 
one  continued  scene  of  labor  and  toil.  His  great  study 
and  constant  preaching  exhausted  his  animal  spirits  and 
enfeebled  his  strength,  yet  to  the  last  he  discovered  a  be- 
coming zeal  against  the  errors  of  the  day.     His  soul  was 


444  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

too  great  to  recede  from  any  truth  that  he  owned,  either 
from  the  powers  or  flatteries  of  the  most  eminent.  He 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  pastoral  office  with  un- 
wearied diagence,  by  preaching  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  visiting  those  under  his  charge,  encouraging  the 
serious,  defending  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel,  and 
setting  them  in  the  clearest  light.  How  low  would  he 
stoop  for  the  sake  of  peace  !  And  how  would  he  bear 
the  infirmities  of  his  weak  brethren  !  that  such  as  would 
not  be  wrought  upon  by  the  strength  of  reason  might  be 
melted  by  his  condescension  and  good  nature.  He  was 
prudent  as  well  as  peaceable  ;  would  forgive  and  forget 
injuries,  being  charitable  as  well  as  cautious.  He  was 
not  addicted  to  utter  hard  censures  of  such  as  differed 
from  him  in  lesser  matters,  but  had  a  love  for  all  saints, 
and  constantly  exercised  himself  in  this,  to  keep  a  con- 
science void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward  man. 
He  showed  an  unwearied  endeavor  to  recover  the  de- 
cayed power  of  religion,  for  he  lived  what  he  preached, 
and  it  pleased  God  so  to  succeed  his  endeavors  that  I 
doubt  not  but  some  yet  living  may  call  him  their  father 
whom  he  hath  begotten  through  the  gospel.  He  affected 
no  unusual  tones  nor  indecent  gestures  in  his  preaching. 
His  style  was  strong  and  masculine.  He  generally  used 
notes,  especially  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  ;  and  if  his 
sermons  had  not  the  embellishments  of  language  which 
some  boast  of,  they  had  this  peculiar  advantage,  to  be 
full  of  solid  divinity,  which  is  a  much  better  character 
for  pulpit  discourses  than  to  say  they  are  full  of  pompous 
eloquence  and  flights  of  wit.  It  was  none  of  the  least  of 
his  excellent  qualifications  for  the  ministerial  work  that 
he  '  knew  how  to  behave  himself  in  the  house  of  God,'  in 


THR   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  445 

regard  of  the  exercise  of  that  disciph'ne  which  is  so 
necessary  to  a  Christian  Society.  With  patience  and 
meekness,  with  gravity  and  prudence,  with  impartiality 
and  faithfuhiess,  did  he  demean  himself  in  his  congrega- 
tion ;  and  with  prudence  in  conduct  did  he  manage  all 
their  affairs  upon  all  occasions." ' 

William  Kiffin  is  the  last  of  the  Baptist  worthies  of 
this  period.  His  is  a  truly  honorable  name.  He  was 
one  of  the  merchant-princes  of  London,  and  had  won 
his  wealth  by  honest  industry.  He  sought  also  to  win 
souls  with  wisdom  and  earnestness  answerable  to  the 
greatness  of  the  imdertaking.  Like  Mordecai  of  old,  he 
was  "accepted  of  the  multitude  of  his  brethren,  seeking 
the  wealth  of  his  people,  and  speaking  peace  to  all  his 
seed." 

William  Kifiin  was  a  native  of  London.  He  wa.«  born 
in  the  year  1616.  When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  he 
lost  both  his  parents  by  the  plague,  which  at  that  time 
raged  violently  in  London,  and  was  himself  "  left  with 
six  plague  sores"  upon  him,  so  that  "  nothing  but  death 
was  looked  for"  by  his  friends.  It  pleased  God  to  restore 
him  and  to  bless  him  with  long  life.  His  conversion  took 
place  in  early  youth.  The  instructive  and  powerful 
ministry  of  those  times  was  the  means  of  implanting  con- 
viction in  his  soul,  and  ultimately  of  establishing  him  in 
the  faith.  An  extract  from  his  autobiography  may  be 
here  cited : 

*' At  the  end  of  the  year  1632  it  pleased  God  to  bring 

Mr.  John  Goodman  to   London.     I   attended   upon   his 

ministry  and   found    it  very   profitable.     Delivering   his 

judgment  about  the  way  of  God's  dealings  in  the  conver- 

'  Ivimey,  ii.  360-368. 

36 


44^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

sion  of  sinners,  he  showed  that  the  terrors  of  the  law 
were  not  of  necessity  to  be  preached  to  prepai-e  the  sonl 
for  Christ,  because  in  the  nature  and  tendency  of  them 
they  drove  the  soul  farther  off  from  Christ ;  answering 
very  many  objections  and  Scriptures  produced  by  other 
ministers  to  prove  the  contrary.  This  was  of  great  use 
to  me,  so  far  as  to  satisfy  me  that  God  bath  not  tied 
himself  to  any  such  way  of  converting  a  sinner,  but  ac- 
cording to  his  good  pleasure  took  several  ways  of  bring- 
ing a  soul  to  Jesus  Christ.  I  had  for  some  time  seen  the 
want  of  Christ,  and  believed  that  it  was  by  him  only  I 
must  expect  pardon  ;  and  had  also  seen  the  worth  and 
excellences  that  were  in  him  above  all  other  objects; 
so  that  I  now  felt  my  soul  to  rest  upon  and  to  trust  in 
him." » 

Again  :  "  About  this  time  [  1634]  I  became  acquainted 
with  several  young  men  that  diligently  attended  the 
means,  to  whom  it  had  pleased  God  to  make  known 
much  of  himself  and  his  grace.  These  being  appren- 
tices as  well  as  I,  had  no  opportunities  of  converse  but 
on  the  Lord's  Days.  It  being  our  constant  practice  to 
attend  the  morning  lecture,  which  began  at  six  o'clock, 
both  at  Cornhill  and  Christ  Church,  we  appointed  to 
meet  together  an  hour  before,  to  spend  it  in  prayer  and 
communicating  what  experiences  we  had  received  from 
the  Lord  to  each  other ;  or  else  to  repeat  some  sermon 
-  we  had  previously  heard.  After  a  little  time,  we  also 
read  some  portion  of  Scripture,  and  spake  from  it  ac- 
cording as  it  pleased  God  to  enable  us.  In  these  exer- 
cises I  found  very  great  advantage,  and  by  degrees  did 
arrive  tc  some  small  measure  of  knowledge,  finding  the 
'  Ivimey's  Life  of  Kiffin,  p.  9. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  447 

Study  of  the  Scriptures  very  pleasant  and  delightful  to 
me ;  which  I  attended  to  as  it  pleased  God  to  give  me  op- 
portunities." ' 

The  young  man  became  an  independent  inquirer,  pre- 
pared to  follow  the  leadings  of  truth,  regardless  of  conse- 
quences. Observing  that  some  excellent  ministers  had 
gone  into  voluntary  banishment  rather  than  conform  to 
the  Church  of  England,  he  was  induced  to  examine  the 
points  in  dispute  between  that  church  and  her  opponents, 
and  this  issued  in  his  joining  the  Nonconformists.  He 
had  been  five  years  a  member  of  the  Independent  church, 
then  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Lathrop,  when,  with  many 
others,  he  withdrew  and  joined  the  Baptist  church,  the 
first  in  England  of  the  Particular  Baptist  order,  of  which 
Mr.  Spilsbury  was  pastor.  Two  years  after  that,  in  1640, 
a  difference  of  opinion  respecting  the  propriety  of  allow- 
ing ministers  who  had  not  been  immersed  to  preach  to 
them — in  which  Mr.  Kiffin  took  the  negative  side — occa- 
sioned a  separation.  Mr.  Kiffin  and  those  who  agreed 
with  him  seceded,  and  formed  another  church,  which  met 
in  Devonshire  Square.  He  was  chosen  pastor,  and  held 
that  office  till  his  death,  in  1701 — one  of  the  longest  pas- 
torates on  record. 

Mr.  Kiffin  was  extensively  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits, trading  chiefly  with  Holland,  and  acquired  large 
property.  His  standing  in  society,  and  his  well-known, 
integrity  of  character,  gave  him  influence,  and  he  often 
exerted  it  for  the  protection  and  relief  of  sufferers.  It 
was  much  in  his  favor,  too,  in  those  changeful  and 
stormy  times,  that  he  stood  aloof  from  all  political  agita- 
tion. He  never  troubled  himself  with  party  disputes,  nor 
I  Life,  p.  13. 


44S  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

interfered  in  the  intrigues  and  cabals  of  politicians.  He 
was  a  good  citizen  of  the  Commonwealth  ;  he  submitted 
to  the  Protectorate  ;  he  honored  the  king.  His  policy  was, 
and  so  he  advised  his  brethren,  to  yield  obedience  to  the 
existing  government,  in  things  civil,  whatever  might  be 
the  form  of  that  government.  Hence  he  was  held  in 
high  esteem  by  all  parties,  and  great  deference  was  shown 
him. 

Charles  II.  was  always  in  want  of  money,  and  cared 
not  b}'  what  means  it  was  obtained.  It  is  said  that  on  one 
occasion  he  sent  to  Mr.  Kiffin,  and  asked  the  loan  of  forty 
thousand  pounds.  The  Baptist  merchant  replied  that  he 
had  not  then  so  large  a  sum  at  command,  but  that  if  his 
majesty  would  accept  ten  thousand  pounds  as  a  gift,  he 
was  heartily  welcome.  The  king  took  the  money,  and 
Kiffin,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  say,  saved  thirty  thousand 
pounds  by  his  liberality  ;  for  Charles  would  have  forgotten 
to  pay  the  debt. 

Several  attempts  were  made  to  involve  the  good  man 
in  trouble.  He  was  summoned  before  the  Lord  Mayor, 
during  the  Protectoi-ate,  for  preaching  against  infant  bap- 
tism, but  the  prosecution  was  not  pressed ;  had  it  been, 
Cromwell  would  have  probably  quashed  it.  On  some 
occasions,  after  the  Restoration,  he  endured  brief  impris- 
onments, pending  investigation.  At  one  time,  he  was 
chaiged  with  uttering  treasonable  words  in  a  sermon  ;  at 
another,  by  means  of  a  forged  letter,  with  being  privy  ta 
an  insurrectionary  design  ;  at  another,  with  having  hired 
two  men  to  kill  the  king.  But  his  innocence  was  so 
clearly  apparent  that  he  escaped.  Doubtless  it  was  by 
"  the  good  hand  of  God"  upon  him.     "  My  Lord  Arling- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  449 

ton  hath  told  me,"  he  observes,  "  that  though,  in  every 
list  of  disaffected  persons  brought  him,  who  ought  to  be 
secured,  my  name  was  always  amongst  them,  yet  the 
king  would  never  believe  anything  against  me  ;  my  Lord 
Chancellor  also,  the  earl  of  Clarendon,  being  very  much 
my  friend." ' 

In  1679,  when  the  Conventicle  Act  was  renewed,  in  a 
severer  form,  an  attempt  was  made  to  bring  Mr.  Kiffin 
under  its  lash.  "  It  pleased  the  Lord,"  he  says,  "  that 
the  laws  now  began  to  be  put  in  execution  against  Dis- 
senters ;  and,  as  I  was  taken  at  a  meeting,  I  was  prose- 
cuted, for  the  purpose  of  recovering  from  me  forty  pounds. 
This  sum  I  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  officer ;  but, 
finding  some  errors  in  the  proceedings,  I  overthrew  the 
informers  on  the  trial.  Though  the  trial  cost  me  thirty 
pounds,  it  had  this  advantage — that  many  poor  men  who 
were  prosecuted  upon  a  similar  charge  were  by  this 
means  relieved,  the  informers  being  afraid  to  proceed 
against  them,"  ^ 

Four  years  after,  they  tried  again,  but  with  no  better 
success.  "  It  pleased  the  Lord,  presently  after  the  death 
of  my  wife,  that  I  was  again  prosecuted  by  the  informers 
for  three  hundred  pounds,  the  penalties  of  fifteen  meet- 
ings. They  had  managed  this  matter  so  secretly  as  to 
get  the  record  in  court  for  the  money  ;  but,  finding  there 
were  some  errors  also  in  that  record,  they  moved  the  court, 
Judge  Jenner  being  on  the  bench,  to  amend  the  record. 
Some  of  my  friends  who  were  in  court  moved  that  I 
might  be  heard  before  the  order  was  made.  In  this  way 
I  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  prosecution,  and,  having 
employed  able  counsel,  they  pleaded  that  the  record  could 
'  Life  p.  46.  » Ibid.  p.  5a 


450  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

not  be  mended  ;  and,  after  several  hearings  before  the 
court,  the  informers  let  the  suit  fall."  ^ 

Had  there  been  more  Kiffins  in  England  at  that  time 
the  informers'  trade  would  have  been  less  gainful.  Per- 
secutors reveled  in  ill-gotten  riches.  They  will  at  length 
appear  before  a  "judgment-seat"  where  there  will  be 
found  no  "  errors  in  the  record." 

A  portion  of  Mr.  Kiffin's  domestic  history  is  thus 
narrated  : 

"  It  pleased  God  to  take  out  of  the  world  to  himself 
my  eldest  son,  which  was  no  small  affliction  to  me  and 
my  dear  wife.  His  obedience  to  his  parents  and  for- 
wardness in  the  ways  of  God  were  so  conspicuous  as 
made  him  very  amiable  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  knew  him. 
The  grief  I  felt  for  his  loss  did  greatly  press  me  down 
with  more  than  ordinary  sorrow ;  but  in  the  midst  of  my 
great  distress,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  support  me  by  that 
blessed  word  being  brought  powerfully  to  my  mind 
(Matt.  XX.  15),  '  Is  thine  eye  evil  because  I  am  good?  Is 
it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own?' 
These  words  did  quiet  my  heart,  so  that  I  felt  a  perfect 
submission  to  his  sovereign  will,  being  well  satisfied  that 
it  was  for  the  great  advantage  of  my  dear  son,  and  a  voice 
to  me  to  be  more  humble,  and  watchful  over  my  own 
ways. 

"  M}'  next  son  being  but  of  a  weak  constitution,  and 
desirous  of  traveling,  I  sent  him  with  the  captain  of  a 
ship,  an  acquaintance,  who  was  bound  to  Aleppo.  Fear- 
ing that  in  this  voyage  and  travels  he  was  in  danger  of 
being  corrupted  by  those  of  the  popish  religion,  I  sent  a 
young  man,  a  minister,  with  him,  to  defend  him  from 
>  Life,  p.  59. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  45 1 

anytliing  of  that  kind.  But  I  was  greatly  prevented  ; 
for  this  minister  left  him  and  the  ship  at  Leghorn,  and 
went  to  Rome  ;  by  which  means  I  was  to  my  sorrow  dis- 
appointed. On  my  son's  return  home,  when  at  Venice, 
he  met  with  a  popish  priest,  and,  being  forward  to  dis- 
course with  him  about  religion,  the  priest,  to  show  his 
revenge,  destroyed  him  by  poison.  As  to  the  minister's 
name,  I  forbear  to  mention  it,  he  being  yet  alive.  '  I 
l)ray  God  that  this  sin  may  not  be  laid  to  his  charge.' "  ^ 

Here  is  a  fine  trait  of  the  good  old  Protestantism.  Wil- 
liam Kiffin  would  not  have  acted  like. some  of  the  mod- 
erns, who  send  their  children  to  Roman  Catholic  schools. 
So  solicitous  was  he  for  his  son's  preservation  from  the 
insidious  error  that  he  was  content  to  incur  a  double  ex- 
pense on  his  tour  rather  than  risk  his  spiritual  safety. 
All  honor  to  him  ;  and  honored  let  him  be  for  his  for- 
bearance. The  name  of  that  minister  who  so  unaccount- 
ably deserted  his  charge  will  never  be  known  on  earth. 
Kiffin  would  not  expose  him  to  obloquy,  though  he  richly 
deserved  it.  Kiffin  was  a  disciple  of  the  "  meek  and 
lowly"  One. 

About  three  years  after  the  last-mentioned  affliction  the 
good  man  lost  his  wife,  who  died  October  2,  1682.  He 
records  the  event  in  his  usual  strain.  "  It  pleased  the 
Lord,"  he  says,  "  to  take  to  himself  my  dear  and  faithfui 
wife,  with  whom  I  had  lived  nearly  forty-four  years, 
whose  tenderness  to  me  and  faithfulness  to  God  were  such 
as  cannot,  by  me,  be  expressed,  as  she  constantly  sym- 
pathized with  me  in  all  my  afflictions.  I  can  truly  say, 
I  ne\er  heard  her  utter  the  least  discontent  under  all  the 
various  providences  that  attended  either  me  or  her ;  she 
^  Life,  p.  56. 


452  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

eyed  the  hand  of  God  in  all  our  sorrows,  so  as  constantly 
to  encourage  me  in  the  ways  of  God :  ler  death  was  the 
greatest  sorrow  to  me  that  ever  I  met  with  in  the 
world."  ^ 

I  have  given  a  full  account  in  a  previous  section  of  the 
affliction  that  befel  Mr.  Kiffin  in  the  death  of  his  grand- 
sons, the  Hewlings.  That  wound  was  never  healed  ;  it 
smarted  till  his  dying  day. 

In  1687,  James  II.  published  a  "Declaration  of  liberty 
of  conscience,"  assuming  for  that  purpose  a  power  to  dis- 
pense with  the  laws  of  the  land  by  an  exercise  of  the 
royal  prerogative.  Some  of  the  Dissenters,  and  among 
them  a  few  Baptists,  were  so  delighted  at  the  prospect 
of  freedom  and  equality  that  they  gratefully  accepted  the 
proffered  boon,  and  presented  addresses  to  the  king  on 
the  occasion,  expressing  in  strong  terms  their  sense  of 
obligation  to  him.  But  Mr.  Kiffin  and  the  majority  of 
his  brethren  were  not  beguiled.  They  saw  that  the 
measure  was  wholly  unconstitutional,  since  laws  can 
neither  be  made,  repealed,  nor  suspended,  but  by  the 
united  legislature  ;  and  they  were  convinced  that  James' 
real  design  was  to  bestow  political  power  on  the  Roman 
Catholics,  and  ultimately  to  make  popery  rampant.  They 
abstained,  therefore,  from  any  demonstration,  and  waited 
the  issue  of  events. 

When  the  king  deprived  the  city  of  London  of  its 
charter,  and  displaced  its  magistrates,  Mr.  Kiffin  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  new  aldermen.  His  account  of  the 
transaction  is  as  follows  : 

"A  little  time  after,  a  great  te.Tiptation  attended  me, 
which  was,  a  commission  from  the  king  to  be  one  of  the 
>  Life,  p.  58. 


THE   THOUBLOUS  PERIOD.  453 

al  lermen  of  the  city  of  London.  I  used  all  the  means  I 
cojld  to  be  excused  by  some  lords  near  the  king,  and 
also  by  Sir  Nicholas  Butler,  and  Mr.  Penn,  but  all  in 
vain.  They  said  that  they  knew  I  had  an  interest  that 
would  serve  the  king;  and  although  they  knew  my 
sufferings  had  been  very  great,  by  the  cutting  off 
my  two  grandsons,  and  losing  their  estates,  yet  it  should 
be  made  up  to  me,  both  as  to  their  estates,  and  also  in 
what  honor  and  advantage  I  could  reasonably  desire  for 
myself. 

"  But  I  thank  the  Lord  those  proflers  were  no  snare  to 
me,  being  fully  possessed  in  my  judgment  that  the  de- 
sign was  the  total  ruin  of  the  Protestant  religion,  which, 
I  hope  I  can  say,  was  and  is  dearer  to  me  than  my  life. 
I  remained  without  accepting  office,  from  the  time  I 
received  the  summons  to  take  it,  about  six  weeks,  until 
the  Lord  Mayor,  Sir  John  Peake,  in  court  said,  I  ought 
to  be  sent  to  Newgate  ;  and  in  a  few  days  after,  I  under- 
stood it  was  intended  to  put  me  into  the  Crown  Office, 
and  to  proceed  with  all  severity  against  me.  Which, 
when  I  heard,  I  went  to  the  ablest  counsel  for  advice 
(one  that  is  now  a  chief  judge  in  the  nation),  and  stating 
my  case  to  him,  he  told  me  my  danger  was  every  way 
great;  for  if  I  accepted  to  be  an  alderman,  I  ran  the 
hazard  of  five  hundred  pounds  [that  being  the  penalty 
for  liking  office  without  first  receiving  the  Lord's  supper 
according  to  the  forms  of  the  Church  of  England]  ;  and 
if  I  did  not  a':cept,  as  the  judges  then  were,  I  might  be 
fined  by  them  ten,  or  twenty,  or  thirty  thousand  pounds, 
even  what  they  pleased.  So  that  I  thought  it  better  for 
me  to  run  the  lesser  hazard  of  five  hundred  pounds, 
which  was  certain,   than   be  exposed  to   such   fines   as 


454  BAPTIST  hlSTORT. 

might  be  the  ruin  of  myself  and  family.  Yet  did  I  for- 
bear taking  the  place  of  alderman  for  some  time,  when 
the  alderman  then  sitting  agreed  to  invite  the  king  to 
dinner  on  the  Lord  Mayor's  day,  and  laid  down  fifty 
pounds  each  alderman  to  defray  the  charge  ;  which  made 
some  of  them  the  more  earnest  for  my  holding,  and  they 
were  pleased  to  tell  me  I  did  forbear  [  in  order]  to  excuse 
my  fifty  pounds.  But  to  prevent  any  such  charge  against 
me,  I  desired  a  friend  to  acquaint  my  Lord  Mayor  and 
the  court  that  I  should  deposit  my  fifty  pounds  with 
them,  yet  delaying  accepting  the  office — which  I  accord- 
ingly sent  them.  When  the  Lord  Mayor's  day  came, 
and  the  dinner  prepared  for  the  king,  I  the  next  day  un- 
derstood that  there  were  invited  to  the  feast  the  pope's 
nuncio,  and  several  other  priests,  that  dined  with  them, 
which  had  I  known  they  had  been  invited,  I  should 
hardly  have  parted  with  my  fifty  pounds  toward  that 
feast ;  but  the  next  court-day  I  came  to  the  court  and 
took  upon  me  the  office  of  alderman.  In  the  commis- 
sion I  was  also  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  one  of  the 
lieutenancy ;  but  I  never  meddled  with  either  of  those 
places,  neither  in  any  act  of  power  in  that  court,  touch- 
ing causes  between  man  and  man,  but  only  such  things 
as  concerned  the  welfare  of  the  city  and  good  of  the 
orphans,  whose  distressed  condition  called  for  help,  al- 
though we  were  able  to  do  little  toward  it.  .  .  .  Having 
been  in  that  office  about  nine  months,  I  was  discharged 
from  it,  to  my  very  great  satisfaction.  .  .  .  My  reason  foi 
giving  this  brief  account  of  these  things  is,  that  you  all 
may  see  how  good  the  Lord  hath  been  to  prevent  those 
designs,  then  in  hand,  to  destroy  both  our  religion  and 
our  liberties,  and  I  heartily  desire  that  both  myself  and  all 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  455 

others  concerned  may  acknowledge  the  great  goodness 
of  God  therein,  that  he  may  have  the  glory  of  all  our 
delivering  mercies." 

Thus  wrote  the  Christian  patriot.  We  see  here  the 
meek  dignity  of  religion.  I  must  present  one  more 
specimen.  It  is  the  concluding  part  of  his  autobiography, 
written  in  1693,  when  he  was  in  the  seventy-seventh  year 
of  his  age  : 

"  I  leave  these  few  instances  of  the  divine  care  to  you, 
my  children,  and  grandchildren,  and  great-grandchildren, 
that  you  may  remember  them  with  thankful  hearts,  as 
they  must  prove  to  the  praise  of  God,  on  my  account.  I 
leave  them  also  desiring  the  Lord  to  bless  them  to  you  ; 
above  all,  praying  for  you,  that  you  may,  in  an  especial 
manner,  look  after  the  great  concerns  of  your  souls ;  that 
you  may  know  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  to  know  is 
eternal  life.  Endeavor  to  be  diligent,  to  inquire  after, 
and  to  be  established  in  the  great  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
which  is  of  absolute  necessity  to  salvation.  I  must  every 
day  expect  to  leave  this  w-orld,  having  lived  in  it  much 
longer  than  I  expected,  being  now  in  the  seventy-seventh 
year  of  my  age,  and  yet  know  not  what  my  eyes  may  see 
before  my  change.  The  world  is  full  of  confusions  ;  the 
last  times  are  upon  us ;  the  signs  of  the  times  are  very 
visible  ;  iniquity  abounds,  and  the  love  of  many  in  religion 
waxes  cold.  God  is,  by  his  providence,  shaking  the  earth 
under  our  feet;  there  is  no  sure  foundation  of  rest  and 
peace,  but  only  in  Jesus  Christ,  to  whose  grace  I  commend 
you." 

Mr.  Kiffin  lived  eight  years  after  writing  the  above. 
He  died  December  29,  1701,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of 
his  age. 


455  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Although  he  was  pastor  of  the  church  in  Devonshire 
Square  upward  of  sixty  years,  it  is  not  probable  that  he 
devoted  much  of  his  time  to  its  interests.  His  mercantile 
pursuits,  and  the  numerous  public  duties  which  were  im- 
posed on  him,  both  civil  and  religious,  engrossed  his  at- 
tention, and  prevented  him  from  fulfilling  the  require- 
ments of  the  pastoral  office.  This  deficiency  was  supplied 
by  the  labors  of  an  assistant  or  co-pastor.  Mr.  Thomas 
Patient  was  his  first  colleague  ;  he  had  been  some  years 
pastor  of  a  church  in  Ireland.  On  his  death,  in  1666, 
Mr.  Daniel  Dyke,  A.M.,  was  chosen.  He  was  a  learned 
man,  and  an  excellent  minister.  He  was  one  of  the 
"  Triers."  He  died  in  1688,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Richard  Adams,  who  survived  Mr.  Kiffin. 

Mr.  Kiffin  was  generally  regarded  as  the  chief  man  in 
our  denomination.  That  is,  his  excellent  character  and 
the  position  which  he  occupied  gave  him  influence  among 
the  brethren,  and  rendered  his  advice  and  co-operation 
desirable.  His  name  is  connected  with  all  the  public 
proceedings  of  the  body  for  half  a  century.  If  the  court 
wished  to  conciliate  the  Baptists,  application  was  made  to 
Kiffin.  If  country  churches  required  aid  or  counsel,  they 
seemed  naturally  to  ask  his  interference,  and  fully  confid«,d 
in  his  discretion  and  integrity,  knowing  that  he  would 
honestly  endeavor  to  do  right. 

He  was  an  eminently  good  man.  We  cannot  but  ad- 
m're  the  quiet  composure  and  filial  submission  of  soul 
w  th  which  he  recorded  even  the  most  painful  events  of 
his  life.  "  It  pleased  the  Lord" — such  was  the  habitual 
expression  of  his  views  and  feelings.  Whether  the  refer- 
ence was  to  mercy  or  judgment — to  manifestations  of 
blessing — to  persecuting  malice — to  domestic  sorrow — to 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  457 

Storms  and  perils — or  to  joyful  deliverance — still,  the  lan- 
guage was  the  same — "  It  pleased  the  Lord."  Thus  he 
jjossessed  his  soul  in  patience,  and  "  endured  as  seeinp- 
him  who  is  invisible." 

I  might  tell  of  other  excellent  men  whom  God  raised  up 
in  the  "  Troublous  Period,"  and  by  whom  the  churches 
were  edified.  There  was  John  Gosnold,  Joseph  Wright, 
George  Hammond,  Samuel  Taverner,  Henry  Forty,  Ben- 
jamin Coxe,  Nehemiah  Coxa,  D.D.,  William  Collins, 
Hercules  Collins,  and  many  more.  But  "  time  would 
fail."  I  must  bring  this  period  to  a  close. 

Our  historians  have  preserved  some  interesting  anec- 
dotes, illustrative  of  the  times.     I  will  transcribe  a  few. 

George  Hammond  was  pastor  of  a  church  at  Canter- 
bury, and  preached  frequently  in  the  neighboring  vil- 
lages. He  was  once  overtaken  by  a  storm,  and  took 
shelter  under  a  tree.  While  there,  another  person  joined 
him,  who  in  the  course  of  conversation  said  that  he  was 
an  informer,  and  that  he  had  heard  there  was  to  be  a 
conventicle  in  the  neighborhood,  at  which  he  meant  to 
be  present.  "  I  am  a  man-taker  also,"  said  Mr.  Ham- 
mond. "  Are  you  so?"  replied  the  informer  ;  "  then  we 
will  go  together."  They  reached  the  house  and  sat  some 
time  among  the  people.  "Here  are  the  people,"  said 
Mr.  Hammond,  "  but  where  is  the  minister !  Unless 
there  is  a  minister  we  cannot  make  a  conventicle  of  it, 
and  therefore  either  you  or  I  must  preach."  The  informer 
declined  of  course,  and  Mr.  Hammond  preached,  much 
to  the  man's  astonishment.  The  sermon  was  blessed  to 
bim,  and  he  became  a  Christian. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  ministry  Nehemiah  Coxe  livecl 
at  Cranfield,  Bedfordshire.  He  was  committed  to  prison 
.-.9 


458  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

for  preaching  the  gospel.  When  brought  to  his  trial 
he  pleaded  in  Greek,  and  on  examination  answered  in 
Hebrew.  The  judge  called  for  the  indictment,  and  found 
him  described  as  "  Nehemiah  Coxe,  Cordwainer,"  at 
which  he  expressed  his  astonishment,  no  doubt  thinking 
it  exceedingly  strange  that  a  shoemaker  should  be  a 
learned  man.  Mr.  Coxe  insisted  on  his  right  to  plead  in 
what  language  he  chose,  and  as  none  of  the  lawyers  could 
talk  Greek  or  Hebrew  the  case  was  necessarily  dismissed. 
"  Well,"  said  the  judge  to  the  learned  counsel  before 
him,  "  the  cordwainer  has  wound  you  all  up,  gentle- 
men." 

Jeremiah  Ives,  who  was  thirty  years  pastor  of  a  church 
in  the  Old  Jewry,  London,  was  celebrated  for  his  tact 
and  power  as  a  disputant.  Charles  II.  heard  of  him,  and 
invited  him  to  court  to  hold  a  discussion  with  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest,  who  was  told  that  his  opponent  was  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.  Mr.  Ives  was  per- 
suaded to  assume  that  character  by  appearing  in  clerical 
attire.  In  the  course  of  the  dispute  he  argued  that  not- 
withstanding the  authorities  which  might  be  adduced  in 
favor  of  Romish  opinions  and  practices,  and  the  plausi- 
bilities which  might  be  urged  in  their  defence,  they  could 
not  be  sustained,  because  they  were  entirely  unknown  in 
the  apostolic  age.  That  argument,  the  priest  replied, 
would  be  of  equal  force  against  infant  baptism,  which 
was  also  unknown  in  the  apostolic  age.  Mr.  Ives  ad- 
mitted it,  intimating  that  he  rejected  infant  baptism  on 
the  same  ground  ;  whereupon  the  priest  abruptly  closed 
the  discussion,  saying  that  he  had  been  cheated :  he  had 
supposed  that  he  was  disputing  with  a  Church  of  England 
clergymen,  whereas   they   had   brought   him  "an  Ana« 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  459 

baptist  preacher."  The  king  and  his  courtiers  were  highly 
amused. 

In  those  days,  preachers  were  often  obliged  to  disguise 
themselves  that  they  might  not  be  recognized  by  the 
informers.  "  It  is  said  that  Bunyan,  to  avoid  discovery, 
went  from  a  friend's  house  disguised  as  a  carter,  with 
his  white  frock,  wide-awake  cap,  and  whip  in  his  hand, 
to  attend  a  private  meeting  in  a  sheltered  field  or  barn." 

Andrew  Gifford,  of  Bristol,  adopted  similar  expedients, 
at  one  time  appearing  as  an  officer,  at  another  as  a 
gentleman.  "  Did  you  not  meet  me  last  night,"  he  said 
one  day  to  a  friend,  "going  through  Lawford's  Gate.^ 
Why  did  you  not  speak  to  me?"  "I  did  not  see  you, 
sir."  "Did  you  not  meet  a  tinker?"  "Yes,  sir." 
"  That  was  me,"  said  Mr.  Giflbrd. 

"  It  happened,"  says  Crosby,  "  that  the  magistrates  of 
Sevenoaks  sent  some  officers  to  the  congregation  meet- 
ing at  Brabourn,  who  took  all  the  men  from  thence  and 
carried  them  to  the  town,  where  by  an  order  they  were 
kept  prisoners  all  night.  On  the  morrow,  when  the 
justices  met  together,  the  prisoners  were  had  before 
them  and  examined,  and  after  some  little  discourse  with 
them  were  dismissed.  They  all  with  one  heart,  full  of 
wonder  and  joy,  returned  to  the  place  from  whence  they 
were  taken,  to  return  thanks  to  God  for  this  so  unex- 
pected a  deliverance.  When  they  came  to  the  place,  to 
their  great  surprise  and  inexpressible  joy,  they  found  the 
women  there^  ivho  had  not  departed  froni  the  house^  but 
had  spent  that  evenings  the  nighty  and  inorning,  in 
prayer  to  God  on  their  behalf" 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Baptists  in  North  America — Church  at  Providence — Baptists  in  Massa- 
chusetts— Persecuting  Enactment  against  them — The  Whipping  of 
Obadiah  Holmes — First  Church  at  Boston — Newport — Lwansea — 
Other  Churches — Roger  Williams  —  Gregory  Dexter- -Obadiah 
Holmes — John  Miles — Elias  Keach. 

I  NOW  proceed  to  give  some  information  resnecting 
the  introduction  of  Baptist  principles  into  /tmerica. 
There  were  Baptists  among  the  first  emigrants  to  New 
England  ;  but  their  number  must  have  been  small,  as  no 
effort  was  made  for  some  time  to  set  up  separate  worship. 
"  Some  few  of  these  people,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "have 
been  among  the  planters  of  New  England  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  have  been  welcome  to  the  communion  of 
our  churches,  which  they  enjoyed,  reserving  their  par- 
ticular opinions  unto  themselves."' 

Roger  Williams'  preaching  at  Salem,  prior  to  his 
banishment,  of  which  an  account  will  be  hereafter  given, 
was  distasteful  to  some  of  his  herrers,  because  he  con- 
tinually testified  against  the  assumption  of  power  in  things 
religious  by  the  magistrate,  and  they  said  that  he  :ncul- 
cated  principles  "  tending  to  Anabaptism."  This  probably 
meant  nothing  more  than  that  he  taught  the  individuality 
^  Magnalia,  book  vii.  chap.  ii. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  46 1 

of  religion,  and  laid  such  stress  on  personal  piety,  as 
essential  to  union  with  the  church,  as  seemed  inconsistent 
with  the  Psedobaptist  theory  of  membership.  It  is  certain 
that  he  had  not  then  professed  Baptist  sentiments. 

But  shortly  after  his  settlement  at  Providence  the 
whole  subject  of  baptism  came  under  consideration  and 
discussion.  How  it  originated,  and  in  what  way  the  in- 
quiry was  carried  on,  we  know  not.  The  result  was, 
however,  that  twelve  men  declared  themselves  Baptists 
in  principle.  Then  the  question  arose,  How  were  they 
to  be  baptized,  since  they  had  no  minister?  They  might 
have  sent  to  England  for  one  ;  but  the  application  might 
not  have  been  successful,  and  it  would  have  involved  an 
expense  which  they  were  ill  prepared  to  meet ;  beside 
which,  a  long  delay  would  have  occurred.'  In  this  di- 
lemma they  adopted  the  only  expedient  that  seemed  to 
meet  the  case.  One  of  their  number,  Thomas  Holliman, 
was  chosen  to  baptize  Mr.  Williams,  who  then  baptized 
the  other.  This  was  in  March,  1639.  A  church  was 
immediately  formed,  of  which  Mr.  Williams  became 
pastor.  But  he  soon  vacated  the  office  ;  some  think  after 
the  lapse  of  only  a  few  months,  while  others  are  of 
opinion  that  he  resigned  when  he  embarked  for  England 
to  procure  a  charter  for  the  colony,  and  that  it  was  on 
that  occasion  Mr.  Chad  Brown  was  chosen  his  successor. 
On  his  return  from  England  he  refrained  from  fellowship 
with  the  church,  and  lived  in  an  isolated  religious  con- 
dition, preaching  the  gospel  to  the  Indians,  as  he  found 
opportunity,  but  refusing  to  participate  in  the  ordinances. 

1  It  was  not  perhaps  known  that  Hanserd  Knollys  was  then  preaching 
at  Dover,  and  that  he  was  one  of  the  "  godly  Anabaptists  "  mentioned  by 
Cotton  Mather. 
39* 


462  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

He  had  embraced  a  singular  notion,  which  is  thus  stated 
by  one  of  his  biographers  :  "  He  denied  that  any  ministry 
now  exists  which  is  authorized  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  impenitent,  or  to  administer  the  ordinances.  He  be- 
lieved that  these  functions  belonged  to  the  apostolic  race 
of  ministers,  which  was  intenapted  and  discontinued 
when  the  reign  of  Antichrist  commenced,  and  which  will 
not,  as  he  thought,  be  restored,  till  the  witnesses  shall 
have  been  slain  and  raised  again  (Rev.  xi.  11).  .  .  .  He 
says  in  his  Hireling  Ministry  None  of  Chrisfs,  pub- 
lished in  1652  :  '  In  the  poor  small  spai^  of  my  life,  I 
desired  to  have  been  a  diligent  and  constant  observer, 
and  have  been  myself  many  waj-s  engaged,  in  city,  in 
country,  in  courts,  in  schools,  in  universities,  in  church, 
in  Old  and  New  England,  and  yet  cannot,  in  the  holy 
presence  of  God,  bring  in  the  result  of  a  satisfactory  dis- 
covery, that  either  the  begetting  ministry  or  the  apostles 
or  messengers  to  the  nations,  or  the  feeding  or  nourishing 
ministry  of  teachers,  according  to  the  first  institution  ot 
the  Lord  Jesus,  are  yet  restored  and  extant.'  The  only 
ministry  which,  in  his  opinion,  now  exists,  is  that  of 
prophets,  /.  e.  ministers  who  explain  religious  truths,  and 
bear  witness  against  error."  ^ 

The  second  Baptist  church  in  Rhode  Island  was  formed 
at  Newport  in  1644  by  Dr.  John  Clark  and  eleven  others. 
Dr.  Clark  became  the  pastor,  which  office  he  resigned  iu 
1 65 1,  when  he  accompanied  Roger  Williams  to  England 
on  business  connected  with  the  charter  of  the  colony.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Obadiah  Holmes,  presently  to  be 
mentioned. 

A  second  church  was  formed  at  Newport  in  1656,  by 
1  Knowles'  Memoir  of  Roger  Williams,  p.  171. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  4^3 

twenty-one  persons,  who  seceded  from  the  first  churcli  on 
account  of  the  use  of  psahnody,  to  which  they  objected 
— the  "restraints  on  the  liberty  of  prophesying" — par- 
ticuhir  redemption — and  the  indifierence  shown  by  the 
church  to  the  laying  on  of  hands  at  the  admission  of 
members — a  practice  regarded  as  essential  by  the  seceders. 

Four  additional  churches  were  organized  in  Rhode 
Island  during  this  period,  viz.  :  North  Kingston,  1665  ; 
Seventh-day  Baptists,  Newport,  1671  ;  South  Kingston, 
16S0;  Dartmouth  (afterward  removed  to  Tiverton), 
1685. 

Year  after  year,  more  Baptists  emigrated  from  Eng- 
land to  Massachusetts,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  openly 
avowed  their  sentiments.  "  The  Anabaptists,"  says  Win- 
throp,  "  increased  and  spread  in  Massachusetts."  Vari- 
ous methods  were  adopted  to  annoy  them,  which  so  far 
produced  the  desired  effect  that  many  of  them  left  the 
country  and  took  refuge  among  the  Dutch  in  the  state  of 
New  York.  But  others  remained,  who,  it  would  seem, 
took  no  pains  to  conceal  their  views,  naturally  concluding 
that  those  who  had  fled  from  England  to  gain  religious 
freedom  would  concede  to  their  fellow-Christians  what 
they  sought  for  themselves.  But  the  New  Englanders 
were  very  imperfectly  instructed  in  this  matter.  They 
still  held  the  Establishment  principle,  and  dreamed  that 
the  Jewish  theocracy  was  to  be  perpetuated  in  Christian 
states.  An  act  was  passed  for  the  banishment  of  Bap- 
tists. It  was  easier  to  banish  than  to  convince  them. 
ITere  it  is : 

"  Forasmuch  as  experience  hath  plentifully  and  often 
proved  that,  since  the  first  rising  of  the  Anabaptists, 
about  one  hundred  years  since,  they  have  been  the  inceu- 


4^4  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

diaries  of  commonwealths,  and  the  infect;trs  of  persons 
in  main  matters  of  reh'gion,  and  the  troublers  of  churches 
in  all  places  where  they  have  been,  and  that  they  have  held 
the  baptizing  of  infants  unlawful,  have  usually  held  other 
errors  or  heresies  therewith,  though  they  have,  as  other 
heretics  used  to  do,  concealed  the  same,  till  they  spied 
out  a  fit  advantage  and  opportunity  to  vei  t  them,  by  way 
of  question  or  scruple ;  and  whereas  divers  of  this  kind 
Ijiave,  since  our  coming  into  New  England,  appeareii 
amongst  ourselves,  some  whereof  (as  others  before  them) 
denied  the  ordinance  of  magistracy,  and  the  lawfulness 
of  making  war,  and  others  the  lawfulness  of  magistrates, 
and  their  inspection  into  any  breach  of  the  first  table 
[that  is,  the  first  four  of  the  Ten  Commandments] ; 
which  opinions,  if  they  should  be  connived  at  by  us,  are 
likely  to  be  increased  amongst  us,  and  so  must  necessarily 
bring  guilt  upon  us,  infection  and  trouble  to  the  churches, 
and  hazard  to  the  whole  commonwealth  :  it  is  ordered 
and  agreed,  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  within  this 
jurisdiction,  shall  either  openly  condemn  or  oppose  the 
baptizing  of  infants,  or  go  about  secretly  to  seduce  others 
from  the  approbation  or  use  thereof,  or  shall  pur^Dosely 
depart  the  congregation  at  the  ministration  of  the  ordi- 
nance, or  shall  deny  the  ordinance  of  magistracy,  or  the 
lawful  right  and  authority  to  make  war,  or  to  punish  tlie 
outwai'd  breaches  of  the  first  table,  and  shall  appear  to 
the  court  willfully  and  obstinately  to  continue  therein, 
aftei  due  time  and  means  of  conviction — every  such  per- 
son or  persons  shall  be  sentenced  to  banishment."* 

This  act  was  passed  November  13,  1644.     That  same 
year  Roger  Williams  had  published   his   immortal  book, 
^Benedict  (Ed.   184S),  p.  370. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  465 

The  Bloody  Tenet  of  Persecution  for  Cause  of  Con^ 
science  Discussed.  It  was  a  bitter  pill  to  John  Cotton, 
the  minister,  and  to  the  magistrates  who  were  so  eady 
to  do  his  bidding.  They  gnashed  their  teeth  at  Williams, 
as  he  passed  through  Boston  on  his  way  from  England  to 
Rhode  Island,  but  they  durst  not  bite — they  could  not 
even  scratch  him  :  their  claws  were  pared  :  they  stood 
in  awe  of  the  men  at  home.  So  Williams  got  safe  to  his 
free  colony  ;  but  "  a  poor  man  by  the  name  of  Painter" 
was  "tied  up  and  whipt"  because  he  would  not  have 
his  child  sprinkled ! 

There  was  a  pressure  on  the  Baptists  in  Massachusetts. 
They  were  few  and  fearful.  Can  we  wonder  at  it.?  It 
was  no  small  trial  to  be  driven  beyond  the  bounds  of 
civilization  in  those  days.  We  hear  but  little  of  them 
for  seven  years,  and  then  it  is  whipping  again  !  William 
Witter,  an  aged  Baptist,  lived  at  Lynn.  The  distance, 
coupled  with  his  infirmities,  prevented  him  from  enjoying 
Christian  fellowship  with  his  brethren  of  the  church  at 
Newport  to  which  he  belonged.  There  were  other 
brethren  in  the  same  neighborhood.  A  pastoral  visit 
was  resolved  on.  Dr.  John  Clark,  pastor  of  the  church, 
accompanied  by  Obadiah  Holmes,  a  ministering  brother, 

and Crandal,  repaired  to  Lynn  for  that  purpose,  and 

proposed  to  hold  a  meeting  with  the  brethren  on  the 
Lord's  Day.  They  were  assembled,  and  Dr.  Clark  had 
commenced  his  discourse,  when  the  constables  made  their 
appearance,  charged  to  apprehend  the  intruders,  and 
keep  them  safely  till  the  next  day.  They  obeyed  their 
orders,  and  the  meeting  was  broken  up.  Next  day  the 
Puritan  magistrates  committed  them  to  prison,  and,  about 
a  fortnight  after,  the  Court  of  Assistants  adjudged  Dr. 


06  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

Clark  to  pay  a  fine  of  twenty  pounds,  Mr.  Holmes  a  fine 
of  thirty  pounds,  and  Mr.  Crandal  five  pounds.  Some 
friends  paid  Dr.  Clark's  fine.  Mr.  Crandal  was  released 
on  promise  to  appear  the  next  court-day.  There  was 
some  talk  about  a  disputation  on  baptism  between  Dr. 
Clark  and  the  clergy  of  Boston,  who  had  intimated  a 
willingness  to  meet  him,  but  it  came  to  nothing. 

Mr.  Holmes'  fine  was  the  heaviest,  most  probably  on 
account  of  the  circumstances  mentioned  in  the  sentence 
presently  to  be  quoted.  He  would  not  allow  the  fine  to 
be  paid  for  him,  nor  would  he  pay  it  himself.  But  he 
must  either  pay  or  be  "  well  whipt."  So  ran  the  sentence. 
It  is  a  curiosity,  and  should  be  preserved : 

"  The  sentence  of  Obadiah  Holmes,  of  Seaconk,  the 
3ist  of  the  fifth  month,  1651. 

"  Forasmuch  as  you,  Obadiah  Holmes,  being  come 
into  this  jurisdiction  about  the  21st  of  the  fifth  month, 
did  meet  at  one  William  Witter's  house,  at  Lynn,  and 
did  here  privately  (and  at  other  times),  being  an  excom- 
municated person,  did  take  upon  you  to  preach  and 
baptize  upon  the  Lord's  Day,  or  other  days,  and  being 
taken  then  by  the  constable,  and  coming  afterward  to  the 
assembly  at  Lynn,  did,  in  disrespect  to  the  ordinance  of 
God  and  his  worship,  keep  on  your  hat,  the  pastor  being 
in  prayer,  insomuch  as  you  would  not  give  reverence  in 
vailing  your  hat,  till  it  was  forced  off  your  head,  to  the 
disturbance  of  the  congregation,  and  professing  against 
the  institution  of  the  church,  as  not  being  according  to 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  you,  the  said  Oba- 
diah Holmes,  did,  upon  the  day  following,  meet  again  at 
the  said  William  Witter's,  in  contempt  to  authority,  you 
being  then  in  the  custody  of  the  law,  and  did  there  re- 


THE    TROUBLOUS   PERIOD.  467 

ceive  the  sacrament,  being  excommunicate,  and  that  you 
did  baptize  such  as  were  baptized  before,  and  thereby 
did  necessarily  deny  the  baptism  before  administered  to 
be  baptism,  the  churches  no  churches,  and  also  other 
ordinances  and  ministers,  as  if  all  was  a  nullity;  and  did 
also  deny  the  lawfulness  of  baptizing  of  infants ;  and  all 
this  tends  to  the  dishonor  of  God,  the  despising  the 
ordinances  of  God  among  us,  the  peace  of  the  churches, 
and  seducing  the  subjects  of  this  commonwealth  from 
the  truth  cf  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  perverting 
the  straight  ways  of  the  Lord  ;  the  court  doth  fine  you 
thirty  pounds,  to  be  paid,  or  sufficient  sureties  that  the 
said  sum  shall  be  paid  by  the  first  day  of  the  next  Court 
of  Assistants,  or  else  to  be  well  whipt ;  and  that  you 
shall  remain  in  prison  till  it  be  paid,  or  security  given  in 
for  it. 

"  By  the  Court, 

"  Increase  Norvel." 

The  sentence  was  passed  in  July.  Mr.  Holmes  was 
kept  in  prison  till  September,  when  he  was  publicly 
whipped,  and  so  barbarously  "  that  in  many  days,  if  not 
some  weeks,  he  could  take  no  rest  but  as  he  lay  upon  his 
knees  and  elbows,  not  being  able  to  suffer  any  part  of  his 
body  to  touch  the  bed  whereon  he  lay."  His  own  account 
of  the  affair,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Messrs.  Spilsbury, 
Kiffin,  and  other  Baptists  in  London,  is  deeply  affecting, 
but  too  long  for  transcription  here.  He  tells  the  brethren 
how  he  declined  the  proffered  kindness  of  his  friends,  who 
"  came  to  visit  him,  desiring  him  to  take  the  refreshment 
of  wine  and  other  comforts,"  having  resolved  "  not  to 
drink  wine  nor  strong  drink  that  day,  until  his  punishment 


468  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

was  over,"  lest  the  world  should  say  "  that  the  streng'h 
and  comfort  of  the  creature  had  carried  him  through  ;" 
how  he  withdrew  to  his  chamber  to  seek  strength  from  the 
Lord,  and  "  prayed  earnestly  that  he  would  be  pleased  to 
give  him  a  spirit  of  courage  and  boldness,  a  tongue  to 
speak  for  him,  and  strength  of  body  to  suffer  for  his  sake, 
and  not  to  shrink  or  yield  to  the  strokes,  or  shed  tears,  lest 
the  adversaries  of  the  truth  should  thereupon  blaspheme 
and  be  hardened,  and  the  weak  and  feeble-hearted  dis- 
couraged ;"  how  he  attempted  at  the  place  of  suffering  to 
address  the  people,  but  was  prevented  by  the  magistrate 
in  attendance  ;  and  how  graciously  he  was  strengthened 
to  endure  the  pain.  "As the  man  began  to  lay  the  strokes 
upon  my  back,  I  said  to  the  people,  '  Though  my  flesh 
should  fail,  and  my  spirit  should  fail,  yet  my  God  would 
not  fail.'  So  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  come  in,  and  to  fill 
my  heart  and  tongue  as  a  vessel  full,  and  with  an  audible 
voice  I  broke  forth,  praying  unto  the  Lord  not  to  lay  this 
sin  to  their  charge,  and  telling  the  people  that  now  I 
found  he  did  not  fail  me,  and  therefore  now  I  should 
trust  him  for  ever,  who  failed  me  not ;  for  in  truth,  as  the 
strokes  fell  upon  me,  I  had  such  a  spiritual  manifestation 
of  God's  presence,  as  the  like  thereof  I  never  had  nor  felt, 
nor  can  with  fleshly  tongue  express ;  and  the  outward 
pain  was  so  removed  from  me  that  indeed  I  am  not  able 
to  declare  it  to  you  ;  it  was  so  easy  to  me  that  I  could 
well  bear  it,  yea,  and  in  a  manner  felt  it  not,  although  it 
was  grievous,  as  the  spectators  said,  the  man  striking 
with  all  his  strength  ( yea,  spitting  in  his  hands  three 
times,  as  many  affirmed)  with  a  three-corded  whip,  giv- 
ing me  therewith  thirty  strokes.  When  he  had  loosed  me 
from  the  post,  having  joyfulness  in  my  heart  and  cheer- 


THE   TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  469 

fulness  in  my  countenance,  as  the  spectators  observed,  I 
told  the  magistrates,  '  You  have  struck  me  as  v^^ith  roses,' 
and  said  moreover,  'Although  the  Lord  hath  made  it  easy 
to  me,  yet  I  pray  God  it  may  not  be  laid  to  your  charge.'" 
Mr.  Holmes  then  proceeds  to  state  that  John  Hazel  and 
John  Spur,  who  expressed  their  sympathy  by  shaking 
hands  w^ith  him  after  it  was  over,  were  sentenced  "■  to 
pay  forty  shillings  or  be  whipt ;"  and  that  a  surgeon  who 
dressed  his  wounds  was  inquired  after  as  if  he  had  com- 
mitted some  crime.  But  "  it  hath  pleased  the  Father  of 
mercies,"  he  adds,  "  to  dispose  of  the  matter  that  my 
bonds  and  imprisonment  have  been  no  hindrance  to  the 
gospel,  for  before  my  return  some  submitted  to  the  Lord 
and  were  baptized,  and  divers  were  pvit  upon  the  way  of 
inquiry.  And  now,  being  advised  to  make  my  escape  by 
night,  because  it  was  reported  there  were  warrants  forth 
for  me,  I  departed ;  and  the  next  day  after,  while  I  was 
on  my  journey,  the  constable  came  to  search  at  the  house 
where  I  had  lodged  ;  so  I  escaped  their  hands,  and  was, 
by  the  good  hand  of  my  heavenly  Father,  brought  home 
again  to  my  near  relations,  my  wife  and  eight  children, 
the  brethren  of  our  town  and  Providence  having  taken 
pains  to  meet  me  four  miles  in  the  woods,  where  we  re- 
joicea  together  in  the  Lord."  ' 

"Bonds  and  imprisonment"  awaited  all  Baptists  in 
New  England.  They  met  for  worship  as  they  were  able, 
and  constantly  testified  against  infant  baptism,  for  which 
they  were  harassed  by  the  courts  without  mercy.  In 
1665  they  ventured  to  form  themselves  into  a  church  at 
Charlestown,  near  Boston.  This  church  was  afterward 
removed  into  the  city,  and  considered  the  first  Boston 
'  Ivimey,  ii.  208-211. 


47°  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

church.  Its  early  history  was  one  long  tale  of  vexation 
and  annoyance,  inflicted,  there  is  too  much  reason  to  be- 
lieve, at  the  instigation  of  the  ministers.  Thomas  Gould, 
the  founder  of  the  church,  was  ordered,  with  two  others, 
after  a  3'ear's  imprisonment,  to  ''  depart  out  of  the  juris- 
diction." This  occasioned  the  removal  of  the  church,  for 
some  time,  to  Noddle's  Island,  in  Boston  Harbor,  now 
East  Boston. 

The  Congregational  clergy,  by  whom  the  magistrates 
were  instigated,  were  proof  against  all  influence  or  en- 
treaty. Nothing  softened  them.  When  a  number  of  per- 
sons, some  of  them  men  of  high  standing  in  the  colony, 
petitioned  for  lenity  to  the  Baptists,  they  were  fined  for 
petitioning.  A  letter  of  remonstrance  from  England, 
signed  by  Dr.  Goodwin,  Dr.  Owen,  Philip  Nye,  John 
Caryl,  and  other  eminent  divines,  failed  to  produce  any 
effect.  Even  the  king's  interference  was  in  vain.  A  royal 
letter,  "  requiring  that  liberty  of  conscience  should  be  al- 
lowed to  all  Protestants,"  and  that  "  no  good  subjects 
should  be  subjected  to  fines  and  forfeitures  for  not  agi'eeing 
in  the  Congregational  way,"  was  disregarded.  When  the 
Baptists,  encouraged  by  this  interposition,  repaired  for 
worship  to  a  meeting-house  which  they  had  built,  its  doors 
were  nailed  up,  and  they  were  forbidden  to  open  them, 
"  at  their  peril."  But  they  insisted  on  their  rights,  plead- 
ed the  king's  authority,  and  at  length  were  allowed  to 
meet  in  peace. 

Thomas  Gould  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Boston  church. 
Isaac  Hull  succeeded  him,  with  whom  John  Russell  was 
for  a  short  time  associated.  John  Emblem,  who  was  sent 
for  from  England,  became  co-pastor  with  Mr.  Hull  'n 
1684. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  47 1 

I  have  given  full  particulars  respecting  the  churches 
already  mentioned,  on  account  of  the  interesting  circum- 
stances connected  with  their  early  history.  The  remain- 
ing portion  of  American  statistics  for  this  period  may  be 
compressed  into  a  small  space. 

In  1663,  the  church  at  Swansea,  Massachusetts,  was 
constituted  by  John  Miles,  who  had  just  come  from 
Swansea,  Wales,  with  some  of  his  brethren.  The  place 
where  they  ultimately  settled  was  called  after  that  which 
they  had  left.  Meetings  of  the  Baptists  had  been  held 
there  for  thirteen  years  before,  but  no  church  had  been 
founded.  The  Massachusetts  government  tried  to  strangle 
the  church  in  its  infancy,  and  actually  fined  all  the  mem- 
bers five  pounds  each  for  worshiping  God  contrary  to 
the  order  established  in  the  colony  ;  but  at  last  they  yielded 
and  the  church  lived. 

A  church  was  formed  at  Kittery,  Maine,  in  1682,  but  it 
died  in  its  infancy.  In  1683  a  church  was  formed  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  There  were  two  churches 
in  Pennsylvania — Cold  Spring,  founded  in  1684;  Penne- 
pek,  in  1688.  In  the  same  year  a  church  was  established 
at  Middletown,  New  Jersey. 

In  1688,  the  Baptist  denomination  in  North  America 
comprised  thirteen  churches  only.  Seven  were  in  Rhode 
Island,  two  in  Massachusetts,  one  in  South  Carolina,  two 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  one  in  New  Jersey.  Times  have 
greatly  changed  since  then !  There  are  now  upward  of 
thirteen  thousnnd  churches  !  The  "  little  one"  has  literally 
"  become  a  thousand  !" 

A  few  biographical  sketches  remain  to  be  furniched.  I 
will  begin  with  Roger  Williams. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  early  life  of  this  great  man. 


472  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

He  was  a  native  of  the  Principality  of  Wales,  and  it  ia 
supposed  that  he  was  born  in  the  year  1599.  Si:  Edward 
Coke,  as  tradition  states,  observed  his  attention  at  church, 
■where  he  was  accustomed  to  take  notes  of  the  sermons, 
and  liberally  took  charge  of  his  education,  thinking  that 
he  would  prove  in  future  years  an  able  lawyer.  This  was 
a  providential  interposition,  for  Williams'  parents  were 
poor,  and  had  it  not  been  for  Sir  Edward's  generosity,  he 
would  have  remained  in  humble  life  all  his  days.  Having 
received  a  good  classical  education,  "  he  commenced  the 
study  of  the  law,  at  the  desire  and  under  the  guidance  of 
his  generous  patron,  who  would  naturally  wish  to  train 
his  pupil  to  the  honorable  and  useful  profession  which  he 
himself  adorned.  The  providence  of  God  may  be  seen 
in  thus  leading  the  mind  of  Mr.  Williams  to  that  acquaint- 
ance with  the  principles  of  law  and  government  which 
qualified  him  for  his  duties  as  legislator  of  his  little  colony. 
But  he  pi-obably  soon  found  that  the  study  of  the  law  was 
not  congenial  with  his  taste.  Theology  possessed  more 
attractions  to  a  mind  and  heart  like  his.  To  this  divine 
science  he  directed  his  attention,  and  received  episcopal 
orders.  It  is  stated  that  he  assumed,  while  in  England, 
the  charge  of  a  parish  ;  ■that  his  preaching  was  highly 
esteemed,  and  his  private  character  revered."' 
•  But  Roger  Williams'  mind  was  not  formed  for  such 
subjection  as  the  Church  of  England  requires  of  its  mem- 
bers. He  understood  Christian  fieedom  too  well  to  con- 
tinue under  the  heavy  yoke  of  an  established  church.  Nor 
did  he  conceal  his  views.  He  had  "  presented  his  argu- 
ments from  Scripture"  to  Messrs.  Cotton  and  Hooker, 
who  afterward  followed  him  to  New  England,  "  why  he 
*  Knowles  Memoir,  p.  24. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  473 

durst  not  join  with  them  in  the  use  of  Common  Prayer." 
Whether  he  was  driven  out  by  violence,  or  whether  he 
vokmtarily  withdrew  from  the  communion  of  the  Church 
of  England,  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  This  only  is 
certain,  that  he  left  his  native  country  in  search  of  evan- 
gelical liberty,  and  landed  at  Boston  on  the  5th  of  Feb- 
ruary 1630,  '31. 

He  had  been  but  a  few  weeks  in  the  colony  when  he 
was  invited  by  the  church  at  Salem  to  become  assistant  to 
their  minister,  Mr.  Skelton.  He  complied,  and  labored 
there  for  a  short  time,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  Boston  people,  he  left  for  Plymouth,  and 
preached  there  two  years.  Returning  to  Salem,  and 
gladly  received  by  the  church  in  that  place,  he  remained 
vvith  them  till  his  banishment. 

Mr.  Williams  had  been  disappointed  by  the  aspect  of 
iffairs  in  New  England.  He  found  that  the  colonists  had 
set  up  a  government  of  a  theocratic  kind  ;  that  none  were 
admitted  to  the  exercise  of  civil  rights  unless  they  were 
members  of  one  of  their  churches ;  and  that  offences 
against  religion  were  punishable  by  the  magistrate. 
These  things  he  abhorred,  and  he  testified  his  dislike  from 
the  very  commencement  of  his  residence.  There  was 
much  jangling  and  disputation,  and  no  small  amount  of 
high-handed  oppression  on  the  part  of  the  colonial  au- 
thorities. At  length  sentence  of  banishment  was  passed 
upon  Williams.     It  was  thus  expressed  : 

"  Whereas,  Mr.  Roger  Williams,  one  of  the  elders  of 
ti.ie  church  at  Salem,  hath  broached  and  divulged  divers 
neM'  and  dangerous  opinions  against  the  authority  of 
magistrates ;  as  also  writ  letters  of  defamation,  both  of 
the  magistrates  and  churches  here,  and  that  before  any 

40  » 


474  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

conviction,  and  yet  maintaineth  the  same  without  any 
retraction ;  it  is  therefore  ordered,  that  the  said  Mr. 
Williams  shall  depart  out  of  this  jurisdiction  within  six 
weeks  now  next  ensuing,  which,  if  he  neglect  to  perform, 
it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  governor  and  two  of  the  magis- 
trates to  send  him  to  some  place  out  of  this  jurisdiction, 
not  to  return  any  more  without  license  from  the  court." 

Such  were  the  "  tender  mercies"  of  the  New  England 
Puritans  of  those  days.  They  had  resisted  the  magistrate 
at  home  by  refusing  to  obey  him  in  things  ecclesiastical, 
and,  in  consequence,  had  gone  into  exile  ;  and  now  they 
banished  their  ministering  brother  for  the  very  offence 
which  they  had  themselves  been  guilty  of.  It  seemed  as 
if  their  boasted  love  of  freedom  was  only  a  love  of  free- 
dom for  themselves,  conjoined  with  the  assumption  of 
power  to  take  it  away  from  others. 

This  sentence  was  passed  November  3,  1635.  Six 
weeks  were  allowed  Mr.  Williams  for  his  removal.  But 
he  could  not  be  silent.  Meetings  were  held  at  his  house, 
where  he  discoursed  in  his  usual  manner,  much  to  the 
annoyance  of  the  magistrates,  who  concluded  that  the 
only  way  to  stop  him  would  be  to  ship  him  off"  for  Eng- 
land in  a  vessel  then  lying  in  the  harbor.  He  heard  of 
their  design,  and  prevented  its  execution  by  flight  In 
the  month  of  January,  1635-6,  he  left  his  home,  and  for 
fourteen  weeks  wandered  about,  exposed  to  the  rigors 
of  the  season — sometimes  in  an  open  boat,  sometimes  in 
the  woods — "  not  knowing  what  bread  or  bed  did  mean." 
At  last  he  pitched  his  tent  at  Seekonk,  where  he  pur- 
chased land  of  the  Indians,  and  began  to  build  and  plant. 
Yet  even  there  the  spirit  of  persecution  followed  him. 
The  place  was  supposed  to  be  within  the  colony  of  Ply- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  475 

mouth,  and  the  magistrates  of  that  town  were  afraid  of 
those  of  Boston  ;  so  they  requested  him  to  go  further 
oft'.  Again  he  sallied  forth  on  pilgrimage,  accompanied 
by  some  of  his  friends  who  had  joined  him.  "  As  they 
approached  the  little  cove,  near  Tockwotton,  now  Indian 
Point,  they  were  saluted  by  a  company  of  Indians  with 
the  friendly  interrogation,  '  What  cheer?* — a  common 
English  phrase,  which  they  had  learned  from  the  col- 
onists. At  this  spot  they  probably  went  on  shore,  but 
they  did  not  long  remain  there.  They  passed  round 
Indian  Point  and  Fox  Point,  and  proceeded  up  the  river 
on  the  west  side  of  the  peninsula,  to  a  spot  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Moshassuck  river.  Tradition  reports  that 
Mr.  Williams  landed  near  a  spring  which  remains  to  this 
day.  At  this  spot  the  settlement  of  Rhode  Island  com- 
menced— 

'  Oh,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod  ! 
They  have  left  unstained  what  there  they  found — 

Freedom  to  worship  God.' 

"  To  the  town  here  founded  Mr.  Williams,  with  his 
habitual  piety,  and  in  grateful  remembrance  of  God's 
merciful  providence  to  him  in  his  distress,  gave  the  name 
of  Providence."  * 

Three  years  after,  Mr.  Williams  avowed  himself  a 
Baptist,  as  has  been  already  stated,  and  assisted  in  forming 
a  Baptist  church,  of  which  he  was  the  first  pastor.  The 
noble  principles  he  had  so  fearlessly  inculcated  were 
adopted  by  the  new  colony  and  embodied  in  its  constitu- 
tion. The  first  settlers  in  Providence  signed  the  following 
covenant : 

1  Knowles,  p.  102. 


476  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

"  We,  whose  names  are  hereunder  written,  beii  g  de* 
sirous  to  hihabit  in  the  town  of  Providence,  do  promise 
to  submit  ourselves,  in  active  or  passive  obedience,  to  all 
such  orders  or  agreements,  as  shall  be  made  for  public 
good  of  the  body,  in  an  orderly  way,  by  the  major  con- 
sent of  the  present  inhabitants,  masters  of  families,  incor- 
porated together  into  a  township,  and  such  others  as  they 
shall  admit  into  the  same,  only  in  civil  things." 

When  the  charter  was  obtained,  a  code  of  laws  was 
prepared,  of  which  these  are  the  closing  words  :  "  Other- 
wise than  thus,  what  is  herein  forbidden,  all  men  may 
walk  as  their  consciences  persuade  them,  every  one 
in  the  name  of  his  God.  And  let  the  lambs  of  the 
Most  High  walk  in  this  Colony,  without  molesta- 
tion, IN  the  name  of  Jehovah  their  God,  for  ever 

AND  ever." 

Under  the  influence  of  the  new  views  of  religion  which 
he  had  embraced,  Mr.  Williams  did  not  resume  his  con- 
nection with  the  church  when  he  returned  from  England, 
but  lived  apart.  Yet  his  was  no  idle  life.  He  pi^eached 
the  gospel  among  the  scattered  settlers  ;  he  promoted,  in 
various  ways,  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
Indians  ;  he  was  the  adviser  and  friend  of  all  the  inhabit- 
ants ;  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  government  of  the 
colony,  of  which  he  was  repeatedly  chosen  President. 
In  165 1,  he  visited  England  a  second  time  on  its  behalf, 
and  obtained  a  confirmation  of  the  original  charter.  The 
uniform  justice  and  kindness  with  which  he  treated  the 
[ndians  so  impressed  them,  that  when,  on  occasion  of 
*'Kirig  Philip's  War,"  they  attacked  the  colony,  in  1676, 
and  "  Mr.  Williams  took  his  staff  and  went  to  meet 
then ,"  endeavoring  to  dissuade  them  from  their  enter- 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  477 

prise,  on  the  ground  that  the  number  and  power  of  the 
English  would  prove  overwhelming,  one  of  the  chiefs 
said  :  "  Well,  let  them  come — we  are  ready  for  them. 
But  as  for  you.  Brother  Williams,  you  are  a  good  man. 
You  have  been  kind  to  us  many  years — not  a  hair  of  youi 
head  shall  be  touched."  * 

Mr.  Williams,  like  many  other  true  patriots,  died  poor. 
For  several  years  before  his  death  he  was  mainly  depend 
ent  upon  his  children. 

He  died  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1683,  in  the  84th 
year  of  his  age.  No  record  of  his  last  illness,  and  of  the 
state  of  his  mind  at  that  time,  has  been  furnished.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  he  was  fully  prepared  for 
the  event.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Governor  Bradstreet, 
at  Boston,  dated  May  6,  1682,  after  referring  to  recent  in- 
telligence from  England,  he  says  :  "All  these  are  but  sub- 
lunaries,  temporaries,  and  trivials.  Eternity  (  O  Eternity  !) 
is  our  business."  ^  In  less  than  a  year  from  that  time  he 
had  entered  eternity.  His  body  "was  buried  with  all  the 
solemnity  the  colony  was  able  to  show."  His  spirit  re- 
joiced in  perfect  purity  and  freedom. 

So  little  is  known  of  Williams'  successors  at  Provi- 
dence, and  of  most  of  the  other  pastors  of  the  churches 
founded  in  this  period,  that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  give 
mere  lists  of  names  and  dates.  A  few  particulars  only 
may  be  mentioned. 

Gregory  Dexter,  the  fourth  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Providence,  was  a  native  of  London,  and  by  trade  a 
printer.  Mr.  Callender  says,  in  his  Century  Sermon^ 
that  Mr,  Dexter  "  was  the  first  who  taught  the  art  of 
printing  in  Boston,  in  New  England.  He  was  nevei 
'  Knowles,  p.  346.  *  Ibid,  p.  354. 


478  BAPTIST  HISTORr. 

observed  to  laugh,  and  seldom  to  smile.  So  earnest  was 
he  in  the  ministry  that  he  could  hardly  forbear  preaching 
when  he  came  into  a  house,  or  met  a  number  of  persons 
in  the  street." 

Dr.  John  Clarke  was  a  native  of  Bedfordshire,  Eng- 
land. He  received  a  liberal  education,  and  practised  as 
a  physician  in  London.  The  intolerance  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Congregationalists,  with  whom  he  associated  on 
his  arrival  in  New  England,  so  disgusted  him  that  he 
determined  to  seek  another  settlement,  and  united  with 
some  others  in  founding  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  the  town  of  Newport.  He  went  to  England,  as  has 
been  stated,  in  1651,  and  remained  there  till  1664,  when 
he  returned,  and  resumed  his  connection  with  the  church 
as  well  as  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  died  April 
20,  1676,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  The  Rev. 
John  Callender,  the  historian  of  Rhode  Island,  says  of 
him  :  "  He  was  a  faithful  and  useful  minister,  courteous 
in  all  the  relations  of  life,  and  an  ornament  to  his  pro- 
fession, and  to  the  several  offices  which  he  sustained. 
His  memory  is  deserving  of  lasting  honor,  for  his  efforts 
toward  establishing  the  first  government  in  the  world 
which  gave  to  all  equal  civil  and  religious  liberty.  To 
no  man  is  Rhode  Island  more  indebted  than  to  him.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  projectors  of  the  settlement  of 
the  island,  and  one  of  its  ablest  legislators.  No  character 
in  New  England  is  of  purer  fame  than  John  Clarke." 

Obadiah  Holmes,  whose  sufferings  at  Boston  have 
been  described,  'vas  a  native  of  Preston,  Lancashire.  He 
emigrated  to  New  England  in  1639,  became  a  Baptist  in 
1650,  succeeded  Dr.  Clarke  in  the  pastorate  of  the  first 
Newport  churct  in  1652,  and  held  that  office  thirty  years. 


THE    TROUBLOUS  PERIOD.  479 

John  Miles,  founder  of  the  church  at  Swansea,  was 
rector  of  the  parish  of  Ilston,  Glamorganshire,  whence 
he  was  ejected  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  in  1662.  It  is 
probable  that  he  joined  the  Baptist  church  at  Swansea 
immediately  after  his  ejectment,  and  that  the  severity  of 
the  persecution  compelled  him  and  his  friends  to  emigrate 
the  following  year. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  church  at  Pennepek  was  Elias 
Keach,  son  of  the  celebrated  Benjamin  Keach.  The  his- 
tory of  his  conversion  and  settlement  with  that  church  is 
very  remaikable.  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards,  in  his  History 
of  the  Baptists  in  Pennsylvania.^  writes  thus :  "  The 
first  minister  they  had  was  the  Rev.  Elias  Keach.  He 
was  son  of  the  famous  Benjamin  Keach,  of  London.  He 
arrived  in  this  country  a  wild  youth,  about  the  year  1686. 
On  his  landing,  he  dressed  in  black,  and  wore  a  band, 
in  order  to  pass  for  a  minister.  The  project  succeeded 
to  his  wishes,  and  many  people  resorted  to  hear  the  young 
London  divine.  He  performed  well  enough  till  he  had 
advanced  pretty  far  in  the  sermon  ;  then,  stopping  short, 
he  looked  like  a  man  astonished.  The  audience  con- 
cluded he  had  been  seized  with  a  sudden  disorder ;  but, 
on  asking  what  the  matter  was,  received  from  him  a  con- 
fession of  the  imposture,  with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  much 
trembling.  Great  was  his  distress,  though  it  ended  hap- 
pily ;  for  from  this  time  he  dated  his  conversion.  He 
heard  of  Mr.  Dungan  [of  Coldspfing].  To  him  he  re- 
paired, to  seek  counsel  and  comfort,  and  by  him  he  w^as 
baptized  and  ordained.  From  Coldspring  Mr.  Keach 
came  to  Pennepek,  and  settled  a  church  there,  as  before 
related  ;  and  thence  traveled  through  Pennsylvania  and 
the  Jerseys,  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  wilderness  with 


4^0  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

great  success,  insomuch  that  he  may  be  considered  as  the 
chief  apostle  of  the  Baptists  in  these  parts  of  America."  * 
Mr.  Keach  returned  to  England  in  1692,  and  labored 
several  ye^rs  in  London  with  great  success.  He  died 
O^iober  27,  1699. 

ipp.  9,  la 


THE   QUIET   PERIOD. 

41 


491 


CHRONOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

FROM  A.  D.  l6S8  TO  A.  D.  180O. 

1689.  Episcopacy  abolished  in  Scotland. — Toleration  Act,  England 

1690.  Death  of  John  Elliot,  "  Apostle  of  the  Indians." 

169 1.  Death  of  John  Flavel,  June  26th.— Death  of  Richard  Baxter^ 

December  8th. 
1696.  Death  of  Philip  Henry,  June  24th. 
1698.  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  founded. 
1 701.  Society   for   the    Propagation   of  the  Gospel    in   Foreign    Paits 

founded. 
1709.  Death  of  John  Howe,  April  2d. 
1714.  Death  of  Matthew  Henry,  June  22d. 
1721.  Commencement  of  the  Mission  to  Greenland. 
1739.  Methodist  Societies  formed. 

1748.  Death  of  Dr.  Watts,  Nov,  25th. 

1749.  Rise  of  the  Swedenborgians. 

1 75 1.  Death  of  Dr.  Doddridge,  October  26 'h. 

1764.  Brown  University,  Rhode  Island,  foundwl. 

1766.  First  Methodist  Class  formed  in  the  United  States. 

1770.  Death  of  Whitefield,  September  30th. 

1785.  American  Episcopal  Church  founded. 

1 790.  Death  of  John  Howard,  Jan.  20th. — Death  of  Benjamin  Franklin, 

April  17th. 

1791.  Death  of  John  Wesley,  March  2d. 

1792.  Baptist  Missionary  Society  founded,  October  2d. 

1793.  Profession  of  Christianity  suppressed  in  France. 

1795.  Death  of  W.  Romaine,  July  25th. — London  Missionary  Society 

founded. 

1796.  Scottish  Missionary  Society  founded. 

1797.  Death  of  Parkhurst,  the  Lexicographer,  February  21st. — Dutch 

Missionary  Society  founded. — Baptist  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety founded. — Methodist  New  Connection  founded. — The 
Sabbath  abolished  in  France. — Death  of  Benjamin  Beddome, 
September  3d. — Death  of  Joseph  Milner,  the  Ecclesiastical 
Historian,  November  15th. 

1798.  Death  of  Schwartz,  the  Missionary,  February  13th. — The  Papal 

Government  overthrown  ;  the  Pope  a  prisoner  in  France. 

1799.  Death  of  Samuel  Pearce,  October  loth. — Religious  Tract  Society 

founded. 


^•«$^S^' 


n   J I   n 


CHAPTER    I. 

General  Character  of  the  Period — Baptist  General  Assembly  in  London 
— Questions — Particular  Baptist  Fund — Baptist  Board — The  Deputies 
—The  Widows'  Fund— The  Book  Society— Bristol  College— Dr. 
John  Ward — Toleration  Act — Schism  Bill  —  Dissenters  excluded 
from  Office — Restrictions — Relief— Decline  of  the  General  Baptists 
— Communion  Controversy — Effects  of  High  Calvinism  on  the  Par- 
ticular Baptists — Commencement  of  Revival— Fuller  and  Sutcliffe 
— State  of  the  Denomination  in  England — Foreign  and  Home  Mis- 
sions. 

I  HAVE  named  this  the  "  Qiiiet  Period,"  because  it 
was  not  only  a  time  of  rest,  persecution  having 
ceased,  but  also  a  time  of  stillness — of  slumber — of  com- 
parative inaction.  The  excitement  had  passed  away. 
A  season  of  exhaustion  succeeded,  in  which  there  was 
little  power  or  even  will  to  engage  in  any  religious  enter- 
prise. It  seemed  as  if  there  must  be  an  interval  allowed 
for  the  gathering  of  strength,  ere  the  churches  could 
enter  the  field  of  labor  which  was  opening  before  them. 
It  is  true  that  there  had  been  displays — marvelous  dis- 
plays of  moral  force,  that  had  startled  and  confounded 
the  tyrants  of  the  age,  and  brought  to  remembrance  the 
best  days  of  the  old  martyrdoms ;  and  it  might  have  been 
supposed  that  the  power  thus  gained  would  be  employed 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord  with  success  equally  marvelous, 


484  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

after  the  obstructions  were  removed  out  of  the  way.  But 
strength  to  endure  is  very  different  from  strength  to 
labor.  If  the  conflict  issues  in  death,  the  supernatural 
energy  holds  out  to  the  end,  and  the  triumph  is  com- 
plete. If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  struggle  ceases,  so  that 
a  calm  succeeds  to  the  storm,  a  reaction  takes  place,  and 
it  has  not  unfrequently  happened  that  a  state  of  spiritual 
languor  has  followed  a  time  of  sore  trial.  Other  consid- 
erations might  be  adduced,  chiefly  drawn  from  the  history 
of  the  church,  tending  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  re- 
mark. But  whether  the  explanation  be  admitted  or  not, 
the  fact  in  the  present  instance  is  sufficiently  obvious. 
The  Baptist  interest  in  England  fell  into  decline  after 
the  Revolution.  Liberty  did  not  bring  life.  The  sun- 
shine had  for  a*time  a  withering  effect.  At  the  lapse  of 
more  than  sixty  years  after  the  close  of  the  persecution 
the  denomination  was  found  to  have  decreased  !  "  There 
is  no  reason  to  doubt,"  says  Ivimey,  "  that  our  churches 
were  far  more  prosperous  and  numerous  at  the  Revolu- 
tion in  1688,  than  at  this  period  [1753],  sixty  years  after- 
ward ;  so  that  prosperity  had  indeed  slain  more  than  the 
sword."  ^ 

A  General  Assembly  was  convened  in  London,  at 
which  ministers  or  delegates  from  upward  of  one  hun- 
dred churches  were  present.  The  meetings  continued 
nine  days,  from  the  third  to  the  twelfth  of  September, 
1689.  The  object  was  to  unite  the  churches  together, 
that  by  a  combination  of  their  energies  certain  useful 
purposes  might  be  subserved,  besides  the  benefit  which 
might  be  expected  to  result  from  brotherly  communica- 
tions. It  was  particularly  recommended  to  raise  a  fund, 
*  History  iii.  279, 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  485 

by  "  freewill  offerings,"  and  yearly,  quarterly,  monthly, 
or  even  weekly  contributions,  the  proceeds  of  whxh  were 
to  be  devoted  to  the  follov.ing  objects,  viz.  ; — the  assfst- 
ance  of  such  churches  as  were  not  "able  to  maintain 
their  own  ministry,'*  so  that  their  ministers  might  be 
"  encouraged  wholly  to  devote  themselves  tc  the  great 
work  of  preaching  the  gospel ;"  the  sending  of  ministers 
"  where  the  gospel  hath  or  hath  not  yet  been  preached, 
and  to  visit  the  churches  ;"  and  the  furtherance  of  the 
wishes  of  "  those  members  that  shall  be  found  in  any  of 
the  aforesaid  churches  that  are  disposed  for  study,  have 
an  inviting  gift,  and  are  sound  in  fundamentals,  in  attain- 
ing to  the  knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  languages, 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew." 

Various  questions  were  proposed  at  this  meeting,  and 
the  opinions  and  advice  of  the  brethren  sought ;  from 
which  it  appears  that  commendable  care  was  exercised 
in  the  matter  of  discipline.  I  will  furnish  an  extract  or 
two : 

"  Question.  Whether,  when  the  church  have  agreed 
upon  the  keeping  of  one  day,  weekly  or  monthly,  besides 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  to  worship  God  and  perform  the 
necessary  services  of  the  church,  they  may  not  charge 
such  persons  with  evil  that  neglect  such  meetings,  and 
lay  them  under  reproof,  unless  such  members  can  show 
good  cause  for  such  their  absence  "i 

"  Afiswer.      Concluded   in   the    affirmative    (Heb.    x. 

"^.  What  ii  to  be  done  with  those  persons  that  will 
not  communicate  to  the  necessary  expenses  of  the 
churches  whereof  they  are  members,  according  to  their 
ability  ? 

41* 


486  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

"^.  Resolved,  that,  upon  clear  proof,  the  persons  so 
oflending,  as  aforesaid,  should  be  duly  admonished  ;  and 
if  no  reformation  appears,  the  church  ought  to  withdraw 
from  them  (Ephes.  v.  3  ;  Matt.  xxv.  42  ;   i  John  iii.  17). 

"  ^.  Whether  it  be  not  necessary  for  the  elders,  minis- 
lering  brethren,  and  rressengers  of  the  churches  to  take 
into  their  serious  consideration  those  excesses  that  are 
found  among  their  members,  men  and  women,  with  re- 
spect to  their  apparel  ? 

'■'•A.  In  the  affirmative  : — That  it  is  a  shame  for  men  to 
wear  long  hair,  or  long  periwigs,  and  especially  ministers 
(i  Cor.  xi.  14),  or  strange  apparel  (Zeph.  i.  8)  ;  that  the 
Lord  reproves  the  daughters  of  Zion,  for  the  bravery, 
haughtiness,  and  pride  of  their  attire,  walking  with 
stretched-out  necks,  wanton  eyes,  mincing  as  they  go 
(Isa.  iii.  i6),  as  if  they  affected  tallness,  as  one  observes 
upon  their  stretched-out  necks ;  though  some  in  these 
times  seem,  by  their  high  dresses,  to  outdo  them  in  that 
respect.  .  .  .  We  earnestly  desire  that  men  and  women 
whose  souls  are  committed  to  our  charge  may  be  watched 
over  in  this  matter,  and  that  care  be  taken,  and  all  just 
and  due  means  used,  for  a  reformation  herein  ;  and  that 
such  who  are  guilty  of  this  crying  sin  of  pride,  that 
abounds  in  the  churches  as  well  as  in  the  nation,  may 
be  reproved  ;  especially  considering  what  time  and  treas- 
ure is  foolishly  wasted  in  adorning  the  body,  which  would 
be  better  spent  in  a  careful  endeavor  to  adorn  the  soul ; 
,  an(;  the  charge  laid  out  upon  those  superfl  jities,  to  relieve 
the  necessities  of  the  poor  saints,  and  to  promote  the  inter- 
est of  Jesus  Christ.  And  though  we  deny  not  but  in  some 
cases  ornaments  maybe  allowed,  yet  whatever  ornaments 
in  men  or  wpmen  are  inconsistent  with  modesty,  gravity, 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  487 

sobriety,  and  prove  a  scandal  to  religion,  opening  the 
mouths  of  the  ungodly,  ought  to  be  cast  off,  being  truly 
no  ornaments  to  believers,  but  rather  a  defilement." ' 

Similar  meetings  were  held  in  London  for  several  suc- 
cessive years.  The  difficulties  of  transit  in  those  days, 
with  other  considerations,  led  to  an  alteration,  by  which 
Bristol  was  substituted  for  London  every  alternate  year. 
At  length  those  general  gatherings  were  discontinued,  and 
associations  of  a  smaller  kind  were  instituted,  similar  to 
those  now  held ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
arrangements  were  not  of  a  permanent  character.  The 
Western  Association  was  an  exception.  That  body  has 
remained  till  the  present  day.  The  others  gradually 
ceased  to  exist,  and  new  associations  were  afterward  or- 
ganized. A  large  majority  of  those  now  existing  were 
constituted  or  revived  in  the  present  century. 

The  churches  in  London  and  its  vicinity  were  larger 
and  wealthier  than  those  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
It  is  pleasing  to  observe  that  they  were  liberally  disposed, 
and  that  the  country  churches  were  indebted  to  them  for 
very  valuable  assistance.  They  originated  the  Particular 
Baptist  Fund,  which  was  established  in  1717,  and  still 
exists.  Its  objects  were,  the  relief  and  aid  of  ministers 
whose  incomes  were  insufficient  for  their  support,  and 
the  encouragement  of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  by 
helping  them  to  purchase  books  or  to  pursue  their  studies. 
Large  sums  were  contributed  for  the  establishment  of  the 
fund,  both  by  the  churches  and  by  individuals,  and  con- 
siderable additions  have  been  since  made  by  donations 
and  legacies.  The  interest  of  the  funded  money  consti- 
tutes the  income,  which  is  further  increased  by  the  pro- 
'  Ivimey,  i.  496. 


488  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

ceeds  of  annual  collections.  In  iS66  the  income  was 
£2,753  3s.  pd.  (13,765.75  dollars,  gold).  This  insti- 
tution has  rendered  most  important  sei"vice  to  the  de- 
nomination. The  General  Baptists  established  a  fund 
of  the  same  kind  in  1726. 

The  ministers  living  in  London  and  its  vicinity  formed 
themselves  into  a  society,  January  20,  1 723-4,  which  has 
continued  till  now.  The  original  purposes  of  the  society 
are  thus  adverted  to  by  Mr.  Ivimey  :  "  They  gave  their 
opinion  and  advice  in  any  matters  of  difficulty  in  the 
churches  that  were  referred  to  them  by  both  parties  ;  they 
received  applications  from  the  country  ministers  to  assist 
them  from  the  Baptist  Fund  ;  they  sanctioned  and  recom- 
mended cases  of  building  and  repairing  meeting-houses 
in  the  country,  and  to  be  collected  for  in  London ;  they 
watched  rigorously  over  the  purity  of  the  members  com- 
posing the  board,  whether  it  related  to  charges  of  im- 
moral conduct,  or  of  erroneous  principles  ;  they  received 
to  their  friendship  ministers  upon  their  being  settled  as 
pastors  in  the  churches,  and  young  ministers  who  were 
introduced  by  the  pastors  of  the  respective  churches 
which  had  called  them  to  the  ministry ;  and  they  appear 
to  have  generally  acted  in  a  body  in  assisting  destitute 
churches,  and  at  the  ordination  of  ministers — to  have 
very  strictly  discouraged  separations  in  the  churches — and 
to  have  affectionately  supported  each  other  against  tra- 
ducers."  '  The  society  is  now  called  "  The  Baptist  Board." 

Certain  other  organizations  from  which  tlie  Baptists 
derived  benefit  were  composed  of  the  various  bodies  of 
Protestant  Dissenters,  with  whom  they  united  on  those 
occasions. 

'^History,  iii.    179. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  489 

The  general  body  of  Protestant  Dissenting  ministers 
of  the  three  Denominations  was  constituted  in  the  year 
1727.  It  consists  of  all  approved  ministers  of  the  Pres- 
byterian, Independent,  and  Baptist  Denominations,  resi- 
dent within  ten  miles  of  the  cities  of  London  and  West- 
minster. The  objects  for  the  promotion  of  which  tliey 
are  associated  are  not  very  strictly  defined,  but  may  be 
said  to  embrace  whatever  affects  the  welfare  of  the  Pro- 
testant Dissenting  interest,  in  its  general  or  political  as- 
pects. Many  advantages  have  resulted  from  this  associa- 
tion. It  is  the  privilege  of  this  body  to  present  addresses 
in  person  to  the  Sovereign  on  important  occasions,  such 
as  the  accession,  royal  marriages,  delivei-ances  from 
danger,  great  victories,  restoration  of  peace,  and  the  like. 
At  such  times  the  king  or  the  queen  is  seated  on  the 
throne,  attended  by  the  great  officers  of  state.  The  first 
opportunity  of  the  kind  was  the  accession  of  King  Wil- 
liam and  Qiieen  Mary.  Mr.  Ivimej'  has  preserved  in  his 
"History"  copies  of  the  addresses  presented  in  the  period 
now  under  review,  and  up  to  the  year  1820,  with  the 
royal  replies. 

When  the  general  body  was  formed,  in  1727,  forty-five 
Baptist  ministers  joined  it ;  the  present  number  is  sixty-four. 

Another  association,  formed  in  1732,  has  proved  ex- 
ceedingly useful.  I  refer  to  the  body  of  Deputies,  ap- 
pointed to  defend  the  civil  rights  of  Dissenters.  Two 
gentlemen  are  sent  by  each  congregation  of  the  three 
Denominations  in  and  about  the  cities  of  London  and 
Westminster.  They  meet  annually,  and  at  such  other 
times  as  may  be  needful.  An  Executive  Committee  is 
chosen  from  the  body  once  a  year  to  manage  its  affairs. 
The  objects  of  this  combination  are,  the  maintenance  of 


490  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

rights  and  privileges,  the  prevention  of  encroachments  on 
the  same,  the  redress  of  grievances,  and  the  removal 
of  restrictions  and  burdens  incompatible  vsith  religious 
freedom. 

The  Widows'  Fund,  established  in  1733,  principally 
by  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Chandler,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
w^as  designed  for  the  assistance  of  "  the  families  of  such 
ministers  of  the  Presbyterian,  Independent,  and  Baptist 
Denominations,  as  at  their  death  stood  accepted  and  ap- 
proved as  such  by  the  body  of  ministers  of  the  denomina- 
tion to  which  they  respectively  belonged,  and  died  so 
poor  as  not  to  leave  their  widows  and  children  a  sufficient 
subsistence."  Large  sums  have  been  contributed  for  this 
purjDose,  and  the  utmost  impartiality  has  been  uniformly 
exercised  in  the  distribution.  The  widows  and  families 
of  Baptist  ministers  have  been  liberally  aided.  The 
amount  of  capital  now  invested  is  nearly  £60,000,  and 
the  income  is  about  £3,600  (13,000  dollars). 

Another  society  in  which  the  Baptists  united  with  other 
denominations  was  the  "  Book  Society,"  originally  called 
"  The  Society  for  Propagating  Religious  Knowledge 
among  the  Poor."  It  was  instituted  in  1750.  The  object 
of  the  society  is  stated  to  be  "  the  gratuitous  distribution 
and  sale  of  Bibles  and  Testaments,  and  other  books  of 
established  excellence,  and  the  publication  of  original 
and  standard  works,  adapted  to  promote  religious  and 
moral  instruction."  It  combines  the  purposes  of  the  Bi- 
ble and  Tract  Societies,  but  was  formed  before  either  of 
them,  and  continues  in  useful  operation. 

It  was  stated  in  a  former  chapter  that  Mr.  Terrill  had 
bequeatlied  considerable  property  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
viding for  the  education  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  by 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  49I 

the  pastor  of  Broadmead  Church.  Possession  of  the 
property  was  not  obtained  till  some  years  'after  his  death. 
The  Rev.  Caleb  Jope  was  the  first  minister  employed 
under  this  arrangement.  He  entered  on  his  duties  in 
1 710,  but  his  services  do  not  appear  to  have  been  satis- 
factory. He  was  succeeded  in  1720,  by  the  Rev.  Bernard 
Foskett,  who  held  the  office  nearly  forty  years.  On  his 
death,  in  1758,  the  Rev.  Hugh  Evans  became  tutor,  who 
was  followed  by  his  son.  Dr.  Caleb  Evans,  with  whom, 
during  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life,  the  Rev.  Robert 
Hall  was  associated  as  assistant.  Dr.  Evans  died  in  1791, 
in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  His  father  and  he 
(and  the  same  may  be  asserted  of  Mr.  Foskett)  were 
eminent  men  in  all  respects — as  Christians,  as  ministers, 
and  as  theological  tutors — and  were  held  in  high  esteem 
throughout  the  denomination.  The  wishes  of  good  Mr. 
Terrill  were  abundantly  realized,  and  the  advantages  de- 
rived from  his  liberal  bequest  greatly  extended,  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Bristol  Education  Society,  founded 
in  1770,  chiefly  by  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Evans.  Bristol 
College,  as  it  is  now  called,  has  furnished  a  large  number 
of  excellent  ministers  and  missionaries.  About  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  persons  have  received  instruction  there 
since  its  establishment. 

Dr.  John  Ward,  a  learned  Baptist,  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
r)Ociety,  and  professor  at  Gresham  College,  placed  in 
trust,  in  the  year  1754,  the  sum  of  £1,200  bank  stock 
(6,000  dollars),  the  interest  accruing  therefrom  to  be  yearly 
applied,  after  his  decease,  "  to  the  education  of  two  young 
men  at  a  Scotch  university,  with  a  view  to  the  ministry, 
preference  being  given  to  Baptists."  Dr.  Ward  was  a 
member  of  the  congregation  in  Little  Wild  Street,  Lon- 


492  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

don.  He  died  in  1758.  Some  of  our  most  celebrated 
men  have  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  his  useful  benefaction. 
It  is  now  administered  by  five  trustees,  four  of  whom  are 
Baptists. 

I  shall  now  have  to  call  attention  to  the  history  of  relig- 
ious freedom  during  this  period. 

Although  the  sufferings  of  Protestant  Dissenters  ceased 
at  the  Revolution,  their  position  was  far  from  satisfactory. 
The  Toleration  Act,  passed  in  16S9,  legalized  their  as- 
semblies, under  certain  resti'ictions,  presently  to  be  men- 
tioned ;  but  the  boon  was  very  grudgingly  granted. 
William  III.  did  not  grudge  it ;  he  would  have  removed 
all  restraints,  had  not  the  bigotry  of  the  age  prevented 
him.  In  Queen  Anne's  time  the  high  Tory  party  attained 
such  power  and  influence  that  measures  were  taken  to 
place  the  iron  heel  once  more  on  the  Dissenters.  The 
Schism  Bill  provided,  "  T^at  no  person  in  Great  Britain 
or  Wales  shall  keep  any  public  or  private  school  or 
seminary,  or  teach  or  instruct  youth,  as  tutor  or  school- 
master, that  has  not  first  subscribed  the  declaration  to 
conform  to  the  Church  of  England  and  has  not  obtained 
license  from  the  respective  diocesan  or  ordinary  of  the 
place  ;  that  under  failure  of  so  doing  he  may  be  commit- 
ted to  prison  without  bail  or  mainprise  ;  and  that  no  such 
license  shall  be  granted  before  the  party  produces  a  cer- 
tificate of  his  having  received  the  saci-ament  according  to 
the  communion  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  some  parish 
church  within  a  year  before  obtaining  such  license,  and 
hath  subscribed  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy." 
It  was  fuiujer  provided  that  if  any  person  so  licensed 
should  "  knowingly  or  willingly  resort  to  any  conventicle," 
or  "  teach  any  other  Catechism  than  what  is  set  forth  in 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  493 

llie  Common  Prayer,"  his  license  should  be  void,  and  he 
should  siilfer  three  months'  imprisonment.  This  iniqui- 
tous enactment  passed  both  houses,  notwithstanding  stren- 
uous opposition,  received  the  royal  assent,  and  was  to  go 
into  operation  August  i,  1714.  On  that  very  day  Queen 
Anne  died,  the  House  of  Brunswick  ascended  the  throne, 
and  a  new  policy  was  inaugurated.  The  act  was  never 
allowed  to  be  put  into  execution,  and  in  1719  was  formally 
repealed. 

But  during  all  this  period  the  Dissenters  wnre  excluded 
by  law  from  office  and  employment  under  the  Crown 
and  in  corporations.  Communion  with  the  Church  of 
England  was  a  necessary  pre-requisite.  Several  endeav- 
ors were  made  for  the  repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corpora- 
tion Acts,  but  always  unsuccessfully.  Presbyterians, 
Congregationalists,  Baptists,  and  Methodists  were  con- 
sidered unworthy  to  share  in  responsibilities  and  honors 
with  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  Nay,  more — 
tlie  Corporation  of  the  city  of  London  meanly  took  ad- 
vantage of  their  position  to  filch  money  from  them.  As 
no  man  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England 
could  take  any  office  in  a  corporation,  and,  as  it  was  well 
known  that  Dissenters  would  not  "  qualify"  (as  it  was 
called)  by  taking  the  sacrament,  a  by-law  was  passed, 
imposing  a  fine  of  £400  on  every  citizen  who  should  re- 
fuse to  serve  as  sheriff'  when  nominated  by  the  Lord 
Mayor,  or  JC600  when  elected  by  his  f'ellow-citizeiis. 
This  being  done.  Dissenters  were,  from  year  to  year, 
nominated  or  chosen,  and  then  compelled  to  pay  the 
fines,  which  were  appropriated  to  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Mansion  House.  The  sum  of  £15,000  (60,000  dollars) 
had  been  wrung  from  them  in  this  manner ;  it  was  high 

42 


494  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

time  to  put  a  stop  to  the  unjust  exaction.  In  1754,  three 
Dissenters  (Messrs.  Stratfield,  Sheafe,  and  Evans)  were 
elected  to  the  sheriff's  office.  The  committee  of  Dissent- 
ers encouraged  them  to  refuse  payment  of  the  fine  on  the 
ground  of  the  illegality  of  the  by-law.  For  this  they 
were  sued  in  the  sheriff's  court,  and  condemned.  The 
judges  reversed  the  decision,  whereupon  the  corporation 
took  up  the  cause,  by  writ  of  error,  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  where  the  question  was  gravely  and  ably  argued. 
By  that  time  two  of  the  defendants  had  died,  and  the 
death  of  Mr.  Evans,  the  survivor,  who  was  in  the  82nd 
year  of  his  age,  was  daily  expected.  Lord  Mansfield,  the 
Chancellor,  espoused  the  cause  of  justice,  and  nobly 
vindicated  the  rights  of  Dissenters,  at  the  same  time 
censuring  the  course  adopted  by  the  corporation  in  terms 
of  indignant  severity.  The  House  confirmed  the  action 
of  the  judges  February  4,  1767;  and  so  the  oppression 
ceased  for  ever.  Mr.  Evans,  I  may  add,  who  had  perse- 
vered for  thirteen  years  in  his  resistance  to  wrong,  re- 
ceived the  news  of  the  successful  issue  as  he  lay  on  his 
death-bed. 

It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  no  Protestant  Dissenters 
were  implicated  in  the  rebellions  of  1715  and  1745. 
During  the  first  there  were  riotous  proceedings  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  when  those  who  were  friendly  to 
the  exiled  dynasty  raised  the  ecclesiastical  war-cry  that 
"  the  church  Vas  in  danger,"  and  wreaked  their  fury  on 
Dissenting  meeting-houses  and  other  property.  The 
Baptists  lost  two  places  of  worship  on  that  occasion. 
The  breaking  out  of  the  second  rebellion  was  the  signal 
for  loyal  and  patriotic  demonstrations.  The  Dissenters 
took  up  arms  in  defence  of  their  king ;  several  of  their 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  495 

distinguished  men  received  commissions  ;  and  it  was  con- 
fessed tiiat  the  vigor  disphiyed  by  them  tended  powerfully 
to  repress  the  discontented  and  embolden  the  friends  of 
the  royal  house.  But  they  had  incurred  the  penalties  of 
the  law  by  presuming  to  serve  the  king  without  first  going 
to  church  and  taking  the  sacrament ;  and,  ridiculous  as  it 
may  appear,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  pass  an  act  of 
indemnity,  graciously  releasing  them  from  the  penal  con- 
sequences of  their  loyalty  and  zeal ! 

I  have  stated  that  freedom  of  worship  was  granted  to 
Dissenters  "  under  certain  restrictions."  They  might 
worship  when  and  where  they  pleased,  but  it  was  neces- 
sary to  register  their  meeting-houses  at  the  quarter 
Sessions,  and  their  ministers  were  required  to  take  the 
Oitths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  and  subscribe  the 
doctrinal  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  (but  the 
Baptists  were  not  called  on  to  subscribe  the  27th  article, 
which  treats  of  infant  baptism).  The  latter  requisition 
was  peculiarly  offensive  to  them,  not  because  they  did  not 
generally  believe  the  doctrines  enunciated  in  the  Articles, 
but  because  they  repudiated  the  authority  of  the  state  to 
demand  subscription.  In  addition  to  this,  Dissenting 
schoolmasters  were  still  subject  to  penalties  (notwith- 
standing the  repeal  of  the  Schism  Bill),  if  they  taught 
school  without  first  signing  a  declaration  of  conformity 
to  the  Church  of  England.  These  grievances  remained 
unredressed  till  the  year  1779. 

An  attempt  to  remove  them  was  made  in  the  year 
1772,  and  a  bill  for  that  purpose  passed  the  Commons, 
but  was  rejected  by  the  Lords.  Only  one  bishop  voted 
for  it.  Another  attempt  was  made  the  next  year,  with  a 
similar  result.      On   that   occasion    the   Archbishop   of 


49^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

York  charged  the  Dissenting  ministers  with  being  "  men 
of  close  ambition."  "  This  is  judging  uncharitably," 
replied  Lord  Chatham,  "  and  whoever  brings  such  a 
charge  without  evidence  defames."  His  lordship  paused 
for  a  moment,  and  then  added :  "  The  Dissenting 
ministers  are  represented  as  men  of  close  ambition  ; — • 
they  are  so,  my  lords  ;  and  their  ambition  is  to  keep  close 
to  the  college  of  fishermen,  not  of  cardinals — and  to  the 
doctrines  of  inspired  apostles,  not  to  the  decrees  of  inter- 
ested and  aspiring  bishops.  They  contend  for  a  scrip- 
tural and  spiritual  worship — we  have  a  Calvinistic  creed, 
a  Popish  liturgy,  and  Arminian  clergy.  The  Reforma- 
tion has  laid  open  the  Scriptures  to  all ;  let  not  the  bishops 
shut  them  again.  Laws  in  support  of  ecclesiastical  power 
are  pleaded,  which  it  would  shock  humanity  to  execute. 
It  is  said  religious  sects  have  done  great  mischief  when 
they  were  not  kept  under  restraints  ;  but  history  affords  no 
proof  that  sects  have  ever  been  mischievous  when  they 
were  not  oppressed  and  persecuted  by  the  ruling 
church."^ 

"  Christian  liberty  !" — exclaimed  Robert  Robinson — 
"thou  favorite  offspring,  of  heaven!  thou  first-born  of 
Christianity !  I  saw  the  wise  and  pious  servants  of  God 
nourish  thee  in  their  houses,  and  cherish  thee  in  their 
bosoms !  I  saw  them  lead  thee  into  public  view ;  all 
good  men  hailed  thee  ;  the  generous  British  Commons 
caressed  and  praised  thee,  and  led  thee  into  an  upper 
house,  and  there — there  didst  thou  expire  in  the  holy  laps 
of  spiritual  lords  !"  ^ 

In  1774  Mr.  Robinson  (he  was  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church  at  Cambridge)  published  a  work  which  probably 
1  Ivimey,  iv.  28.  ''■  Works,  ii.  183. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  497 

influenced  the  public  mind  on  this  subject,  and  prepared 
the  way  for  the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  enactments.  I 
refer  to  his  Arcana.^  or  the  Principles  of  the  late  Peti- 
tioners to  Pari ia7nent  for  Relief  in  the  matter  of  Sub- 
scription. The  book  was  written  in  the  form  of  letters, 
and  the  subjects  discussed  were  Candor  in  Controversy — 
Uniformity  in  Religion — The  Right  of  Private  Judgment 
— Civil  Magistracy  —  Innovation  —  Orthodoxy  —  Persecu- 
fion — Sophistry. '  Incomparable  wit  sparkled  in  this  work. 
No  churchman  could  read  it  without  being  ashamed  of 
the  intolerance  of  his  spiritual  rulers. 

At  length  even  the  bishops  were  mollified.  One  of 
their  number,  Dr.  Ross,  bishop  of  Exeter,  in  a  sermon 
before  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  30th  of  January,  1779, 
expressed  his  wish  that  I'elief  might  be  afforded  to  Dis- 
senters. The  hint  was  taken.  A  bill  was  speedily  in- 
troduced, which  passed  through  both  houses  without 
much  difficulty,  by  which  subscription  to  the  Articles  was 
abolished,  and  instead  of  it  ministers  were  required  to 
sign  the  following  declaration  : — "  I,  A.  B.,  do  solemnly 
declare,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  that  I  am  a 
Christian,  and  a  Protestant,  and  as  such  that  I  believe 
that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  as 
commonly  received  among  Protestant  churches,  do  con- 
tain the  revealed  will  of  God  ;  and  that  I  do  receive  the 
same  as  the  rule  of  my  faith  and  practice."  Dissenting 
schoolmasters  also  obtained  the  desired  relief. 

I  have  narrated  these  transactions,  in  all  which  the 
iiaptists  were  concerned  in  common  with  other  Protes- 
tant Dissenters,  in  order  to  put  my  readers  in  possession 
of  some  facts  which  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of.  Per- 
secution in  its  violent  forms  existed  no  longer  ;  but  there 

42  * 


498  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

were  men  still  to  be  found,  and  the  race  is  not  yet  extinct, 
who  gladly  embraced  every  opportunity  of  venting  their 
spite  against  those  who  chose  to  think  and  act  for  them- 
selves in  matters  of  religion.  Let  us  be  thankful  that 
tliis  ill-conditioned  tribe  is  dwindling  away. 

A  sad  degeneiacy  had  taken  place  among  thvi  General 
Baptists  (called  Pree-ivill Baptists  in  the  United  States), 
who,  as  the  reader  is  doubtless  aware,  adopt  Arniiniau 
views,  the  Particular  Baptists  being  denominated  Calvm- 
istic.  Arianism  had  crept  in  among  them,  and  with  it 
certain  other  errors.  The  loss  of  life  followed  the  ob- 
scuration of  light.  Antievangelical  sentiments  and  prac- 
tices prevailed  to  such  an  alarming  extent  that  the  sound- 
hearted  of  that  denominatioQ,  felt  the  necessity  of  with- 
drawment.  They  peaceably  withdrew  in  the  year  1770, 
and  formed  the  "  New  Connexion  of  General  Baptists." 
The  blessing  of  God  followed  the  movement.  The  new 
body  thus  constituted  is  now  the  General  Baptist  Denom- 
ination, the  Arianized  churches  having  for  the  most  part 
fallen  into  Socinianism,  or  become  extinct. 

The  communion  controversy  was  revived.  Nothing 
had  been  published  on  the  subject  since  the  time  of 
Charles  II.  when  Bunyan  advocated  free  communion, 
and  Kiffin  replied  to  him.  In  1771  Robert  Robinson 
wrote  a  pamphlet  entitled.  The  General  Doctrines  of 
Toleration  applied  to  Free  Communion.  Messrs. 
Ryland,  of  Northampton,  and  Turner,  of  Abingdon,  men 
of  note  and  power,  published  essays,  maintaining  the 
same  views.  They  were  answered  by  Abraham  Booth, 
whose  Apology  for  the  Baptists  was  the  most  masterly 
production  that  had  yet  appeared  on  that  side  of  the  ques- 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  499 

tion.     No  other  publications  on  the  subject  were  issued 
for  many  years. 

I  have  remarked  that  the  denomination  had  evidently 
fiiUen  into  a  state  of  religious  declension  almost  immedi- 
ately after  the  restoration  of  freedom.  The  statistics 
prove  this.  To  whatever  other  causes  the  condition  of 
affairs  may  be  ascribed,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  paralyzing  influence  of  the  doctrinal  sentiments  en- 
tertained by  many  of  the  ministers  must  be  regarded  as 
mainly  contributing  to  the  result.  John  Brine  and  Dr. 
Gill  were  chief  men  in  the  denomination  for  nearly  half  a 
century.  They  were  Supralapsarians,  holding  that  God's 
election  was  irrespective  of  the  fall  of  man.  They  taught 
eternal  justification.  Undue  prominence  was  given  in 
their  discourses  to  the  teachings  of  Sci^ipture  respecting 
the  divine  purposes.  Although  they  themselves  incul- 
cated practical  godliness,  and  so  were  not  justly  liable  to 
the  charge  of  antinomianism,  there  is  reason  to  fear  that 
numbers  of  those  who  imbibed  their  doctrinal  views  kept 
out  of  sight  or  but  feebly  urged  the  obligation  of  believers 
to  personal  holiness.  And  this  is  certain,  that  those 
eminent  men,  and  all  their  followers,  went  far  astray  from 
the  course  marked  out  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles. 
They  were  satisfied  with  stating  men's  danger,  and  assur- 
ing them  that  they  were  on  the  high  road  to  perdition 
But  the}'  did  not  call  upon  thnm  to  "  repent  and  believe 
the  gospel."  They  did  not  entreat  them  to  be  "  recon- 
ciled unto  God."  They  did  not  "  warn  every  man  and 
teach  every  man  in  all  wisdom."  And  the  churches  did 
not,  could  not,  under  their  instruction,  engage  in  efforts 
foi  the  conversion  of  souls.  They  were  so  afraid  of  in- 
truding on  God's  work  that  they  neglected  to  do  what  he 


500  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

had  commanded  them.  They  seem  to  have  supposed 
that  preservation  was  all  they  should  aim  at ;  they  had 
not  heart  enough  to  seek  for  extetision.  No  wonder  that 
the  cause  declined ! 

The  backsliding  and  coldness  had  affected  all  religious 
communities  in  England.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  mer- 
ciful revival  which  accompanied  the  labors  of  Whitefield 
and  the  Wesleys,  e  /angelical  truth  would  have  wellnigh 
died  out.  Those  extraordinary  men  were  raised  up  for  a 
glorious  purpose.  The  effects  of  their  ministry  were  felt 
by  all  denominations.  The  churches  began  to  arise  and 
shake  themselves  from  the  dust.  A  new  order  of  things 
may  be  dated  from  the  commencement  of  their  itinerancy, 
indicating  a  gradual  return  to  apostolical  simplicity  and 
fervor.  Christian  ministers  preached  differently;  if  they 
uttered  the  same  truths,  there  was  more  affection  and 
power  in  the  utterance.  Some  of  them  found  that  an  ad- 
dition to  their  creeds  was  necessary,  to  bring  them  into 
accordance  with  the  heavenly  standard,  and  Christian 
churches  saw  that  there  were  duties  incumbent  on  them., 
which  they  could  not  neglect  without  incurring  guilt. 

The  restorative  process  did  not  take  effect  among  the 
Baptists  so  soon  as  in  some  other  denominations ;  but  at 
length  they  also  felt  its  influence,  and  then  it  was  not 
long  before  improvement  was  discernible,  as  the  statistical 
returns  show.  Another  circumstance  tended  to  bring  it 
about:  some  excellent  ministers  in  the  central  counties 
had  long  seen  and  lamented  the  prevalence  of  unscrip- 
tural  opinions,  and  striven  against  the  stream  ;  they  now 
saw  a  turn  in  their  favor  and  wisely  resolved  to  avail 
themselves  of  it.  Robert  Hall,  of  Arnsby,  father  of  the 
great  Robert  Hall,  delivered  a  sermon  before  the  North- 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  501 

amptonshire  Association,  at  its  annual  meeting  in  i779» 
founded  on  Isaiah  Ivii.  14  :  "Cast  ye  up,  prepare  the  way, 
take  up  the  stumbling-block  out  of  the  way  of  my  peo- 
ple." In  compliance  with  the  urgent  request  of  his 
brethren,  the  discourse  was  shortly  afterward  presented 
to  the  public,  in  an  enlarged  form,  under  the  \\\\qo{  Help 
to  Zio?t's  Travelers ;  or^  An  Attetnpt  to  Remove  various 
Stumbling-blocks  out  of  the  way,  relating  to  Doctrinal^ 
Experitnental,  and  Practical  Religion.  This  instruct 
ive  and  useful  book  had  a  wide  circulation.  It  corrected 
the  religious  sentiments  of  many,  moulding  them  after  the 
divine  model,  and  was  thus  peculiarly  serviceable  to  the 
cause  of  truth. 

From  that  time  we  may  discern  religious  progress. 
Thoughtful  concern  for  the  souls  of  others  began  to 
manifest  itself.  A  monthly  prayer-meeting  for  the  revival 
of  religion  and  the  spread  of  the  gospel  was  instituted  in 
1784.  William  Carey  meditated  on  the  state  of  the  world, 
and  longed  to  evangelize  it.  His  Enquiry  into  the  Obli- 
gations of  Christians  to  use  means  for  the  Conversion 
of  the  Heathen  was  published  in  1791.  That  paved  the 
way  for  the  missionary  enterprise  ;  but  our  fathers  did  not 
rush  into  it  unadvisedly  or  in  haste.  They  thought  and 
prayed,  and  marked  the  leadings  of  the  divine  will,  pre- 
pared to  follow  the  light.  God  educated  them  fr)r  the 
work,  and  so,  when  they  engaged  in  it,  it  was  not  so 
much  to  undertake  a  project  as  to  develop  a  principle, 
trusting  in  the  promises  of  him  who  has  said  of  his  word, 
"  It  shall  not  return  unto  me  void." 

Andrew  Fuller  and  John  SutcLffe  were  "  men  that 
had  understanding  of  the  times,  to  know  what  Israel 
ought  to  do."     When  they  saw  that  the  time  was  come, 


502  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

they  prepared  to  rouse  the  people.  To  this  their  dis- 
courses— delivered  at  a  meeting  of  ministers  at  Clipstone, 
Northamptonshire,  in  1791 — mainly  contributed.  Fuller 
preached  from  Haggai  i.  2,  on  "  the  pernicious  influence 
of  delay ;"  Sutcliffe  from  i  Kings  xix.  10,  on  "jealousy 
for  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Decisive  action  foUow^ed  shortly 
afterward. 

On  the  2nd  of  October,  1792,  twelve  ministers,  deputed 
by  the  Northamptonshire  Association,  met  in  the  house 
of  Mr.  Beeby  Wallis,  Kettering,  and,  after  lengthened 
and  prayerful  discussion,  adopted  a  plan  of  a  mission,  and 
formed  a  society,  designated  "  The  Particular  Baptist 
Society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  amongst  the  Heathen." 
The  names  of  the  twelve  were,  John  Ryland,  Reynold 
Hogg,  John  Sutclifi',  Andrew  Fuller,  Abraham  Green- 
wood, Edward  Sharman,  Joshua  Burton,  Samuel  Fearce, 
Thomas  Blundel,  William  Heighton,  John  Eayres,  Joseph 
Timms.  Their  joint  contributions  amounted  to  £13  2S. 
6(1.  sterling. 

William  Carey  immediately  offered  himself  as  a  mis- 
sionary. Mr.  John  Thomas,  who  had  already  performed 
some  Christian  labor  in  Calcutta,  while  practicing  there 
as  a  surgeon,  and  was  then  in  England,  joined  him. 
They  saile.d  from  England  June  13,  1793  ;  John  Fountain 
followed  them  in  1796;  and  in  1799  Messrs.  Ward, 
Brunsdon,  Grant,  and  Marshman  were  added  to  the  little 
band.  Difficulties  and  trials  of  no  ordinary  character 
oppressed  the  work  for  several  years.  At  length  the 
mission  found  a  home  at  Serampore,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Denmark,  to  which  country  Serampore  then  be- 
longed. There,  on  the  i6th  of  May,  1800,  the  first  sheet 
of  the   Bengali   New  Testament,   translated   by  Carey, 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  503 

was  put  to  press.  Thus  was  a  solid  foundation  laid,  on 
which  a  fair  and  noble  superstructure  was  afterward 
erected. ^ 

It  is  observable  that,  five  years  after  the  institution  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  the  claims  of  home  began  to  be 
deeply  felt.  Christians  saw  that,  if  one  thing  was  to  be 
"  done,"  the  other  was  not  to  be  "  left  undone."  The 
Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society  was  founded  in 
1797. 

The  denomination  had  been  gathering  strength  for 
several  years.  In  1763  the  number  of  churches  was  200. 
In  1790  there  were  326  churches  in  England,  and  56  in 
Wales,  besides  the  churches  of  the  General  Baptists,  th^ 
number  of  which  is  not  given. 

»  See  Dr.  Cox's  History  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Biographical  Notices — Dr.  John  Gale— John  Skepp— John  Brine — Dr. 
Gill — John  Macgowan — Robert  Robinson — Robert  Hall,  Sen. — John 
Ryland — The  Stennetts — Benjamin  Beddome — Samuel  Pearce — John 
Piggott — The  Wallins — Dr.  Andrew  Gifford — Mordecai  Abbott,  Esq. 
— Thomas  and  John  Hollis — Miss  Steele — Mrs.  Seward. 

BEFORE  proceeding  to  furnish  information  respect- 
ing the  state  of  our  body  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
I  will  give  a  brief  account  of  the  principal  ministers  who 
flourished  in  England  during  this  period. 

Dr.  John  Gale  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Ley- 
den,  where  he  obtained  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Philoso- 
phy at  the  early  age  of  nineteen.  Proceeding  thence  to 
Amsterdam,  he  studied  theology  under  Limborch,  au- 
thor of  the  History  of  the  Inquisition^  and  other 
works.  On  his  return  to  England,  in  1705,  he  became 
assistant  to  Mr.  Allen,  then  pastor  of  the  church  in  the 
Barbican,  London,  and  afterward  to  his  successor,  Mr. 
Joseph  Burroughs.  He  died  in  1721,  in  the  41st  year 
of  his  age. 

Dr.  Gale  is  best  known  by  his  answer  to  Dr.  Wall,  in 
a  volume  entitled,  Reflections  on  Dr.  WaWs  History  of 
Infant  Baptism.  This  is  a  standard  work  in  the  Baptist 
controversy.      The    author's  various   learning    is  advan- 

504 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  5^5 

tageously  employed,  and  in  a  very  effective  manner. 
Even  those  who  differed  from  him  acknowledged  the 
great  merit  of  his  work.  It  is  reprinted,  I  observe,  in 
the  Oxford  edition  of  WalVs  History.  This  evinces 
remarkable  fairness  and  impartiality. 

I  am  sorry  to  be  compelled  to  say  that  Dr.  Gale's  re- 
ligious sentiments  were  lamentably  defective  on  some 
points.  He  inculcated  the  morals  of  Christianity  rather 
tlian  its  evangelical  truths. 

John  Skepp,  who  was  some  time  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Paul's  Alley,  Cripplegate,  London,  and  was  a  self- 
taught,  learned  man,  published  a  volume  entitled  Divi?ie 
Energy;  or.,  the  Operations  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon 
the  Soul  of  Man.,  in  his  effectual  Calling  and  Conver- 
sion., stated.,  proved.,  and  vindicated.  In  assigning  his 
reasons  for  the  publication,  he  said,  "  that  he  had  heard 
and  read  of  much  contempt  thrown  upon  the  doctrine 
and  preaching  of  the  Spirit's  work,  as  if  it  was  not  ne- 
cessary to  make  the  gospel  muiistry  effectual  for  illumi- 
nation, conviction,  and  conversion,  and  for  carrying  on 
the  work  of  faith  with  power."  Doubtless  this  was  true  ; 
for  it  was  a  day  of  declension  :  yet  it  must  be  confessed 
that,  though  Mr.  Skepp's  book  contained  much  import- 
ant truth,  the  opinions  he  held  on  one  subject  disqualified 
him  for  the  work  of  revival.  He  refused  to  address  the 
invitations  of  the  gospel  to  the  unconverted  :  he  would 
declare  —  proclaim  —  announce  to  men  their  sin  and 
danger  ;  but  he  would  not  call  upon  them  to  return  to 
the  Lord.  That  would  be  interfering  with  God's  work ! 
So  serious  a  mistake  could  not  but  affect  his  ministry  and 
mar  his  usefulness.     Mr.  Skepp  died  in  1721. 

John  Brine  became  pastor  of  the  same  church  in  i730» 
43 


5o6  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

and  labored  there  thirty-five  years.  His  views  harmonized 
with  Mr.  Skepp's.  They  were  placed  before  the  public 
in  numerous  books,  sermons,  and  tracts,  and  probably 
influenced  the  minds  of  many  of  his  brethren  in  the  min- 
istry ;  the  more  so,  as  from  his  character,  talents,  and 
high  standing  in  the  denomination,  he  was  likely  to  be 
consulted  and  followed.  Messrs.  Skepp  and  Brine  were 
eminently  pious  men,  who  contended  earnestly  for  the 
faith,  and  stated  with  great  clearness  and  force  the  dis- 
tinguishing doctrines  of  the  gospel.  It  was  much  to  be 
deplored  that  their  minds  were  warped  on  the  subject  be- 
fore alluded  to,  as  the  results  were  certainly  injurious  to  a 
great  extent.  But  I  turn  with  pleasure  to  the  record  of 
Mr.  Brine's  last  hours.  It  is  said  that,  "  not  long  before 
his  decease,  he  expressed  the  state  of  his  mind  by  saying, 
*  I  think  I  am  of  sinners  the  chief,  of  saints  the  least :  I 
know  that  I  am  nothing ;  but,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  am 
what  I  am  ;'  which  words  he  ordered  should  be  inscribed 
on  his  tombstone."  ^  His  wish  was  comjolied  with.  He 
was  buried  in  Bunhill  Fields.  Perhaps  some  have  read 
the  words  on  his  tombstone,  and  received  them  as  a  mes- 
sage from  God  to  their  souls. 

Mr.  Brine  died  February  21,  1765.  A  gi'eat  man, 
with  whom  he  had  long  co-operated  in  Christian  labor, 
followed  him  to  the  grave  little  more  than  six  years  after- 
ward. I  refer  to  Dr.  Gill,  who  was,  in  some  respects, 
the  most  learned  man  that  had  yet  appeared  in  our  de- 
nomination. Nor,  indeed,  have  any  equalled  him  to  the 
present  day,  in  acquaintance  with  Hebrew  and  the  Rab- 
binic literature. 

John  Gill  was  born  at  Kettering,  Northamptonshire, 
*  Ivimey,  iii.  371, 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  507 

November  23,  1697.  He  was  educated  in  the  grammar- 
school  of  that  town,  but  was  taken  from  it  at  the  age  of 
eleven,  in  consequence  of  the  unreasonable  conduct  of 
the  master,  who  insisted  on  the  attendance  of  the  scholars 
at  prayers  in  the  parish  church  on  week-days.  To  this, 
those  of  the  parents  who  were  Dissenters  would  not  sub- 
mit, and  therefore  removed  their  children  from  the  school. 
Young  Gill  had  made  such  extraordinary  progress  in 
Latin  and  Greek  that  his  friends  endeavoi'ed  to  procure 
assistance  with  a  view  to  the  prosecution  of  his  studies  at 
one  of  the  universities  ;  but  they  were  unsuccessful.  This 
did  not  damp  his  ardor.  Part  of  his  time  was  necessarily 
spent  in  attendance  on  his  father's  business  (he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  woolen  trade)  ;  every  minute  of  the  remain- 
der was  employed  in  gathering  knowledge.  He  im- 
proved himself  in  Latin  and  Greek  ;  he  studied  logic, 
rhetoric,  and  natural  and  moral  philosophy ;  he  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew,  in  which  language  "  he  took 
great  delight ;"  he  read  a  large  number  of  Latin  treatises 
on  various  subjects,  but  especially  on  theology.  All  this 
was  accomplished  by  his  own  unaided  exertions. 

In  1 716  he  was  baptized,  on  confession  of  faith,  and 
immediately  afterward  commenced  preaching.  His  la- 
bors were  very  acceptable,  and  the  church  at  Kettering 
would  have  gladly  detained  him  among  them  ;  but  that 
was  not  his  destined  sphere.  In  compliance  with  the 
request  of  the  church  at  Horselj^down,  Southwark — over 
which  the  celebrated  Benjamin  Keach  formerly  presided, 
-/Vho  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Benjamin 
Stinton,  then  lately  deceased — he  visited  them,  and  after 
preaching  several  months,  was  chosen  pastor.  The  ordi- 
nation took  place  March  22,  1720. 


5o8  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

More  than  fifty  years  of  unremitting  toil  succeeded  that 
transaction.  Mr.  Gill's  life  was  emphatically  a  laborious 
one.  His  duties  as  pastor  were  punctually  and  faithfully 
discharged.  Besides  attending  to  these,  he  constantly 
enlarged  his  acquaintance  with  all  learning.  He  watched 
the  movements  of  the  enemies  of  truth,  and  held  himself 
in  readiness  to  repel  assaults.     His  pen  was  never  idle. 

The  great  work  of  his  life  was  the  Commentary  on 
the  Scriptures.  It  was  originally  given  to  his  people 
from  the  pulpit,  in  the  form  of  expository  discourses. 
He  began  with  Solomon's  Song,  on  which  he  preached 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  sermons.  The  Exposition 
was  published  in  1728,  in  a  folio  volume.  Three  folios 
more  were  occupied  with  the  New  Testament,  the  third 
of  which  appeared  in  1748.  In  that  year  the  author  re- 
ceived from  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen,  the  degree  of 
Doctor  in  Divinity.  In  the  diploma  special  mention  was 
made  of  Dr.  Gill's  proficiency  in  sacred  literature,  in 
the  Oriental  languages,  and  in  Jewish  antiquities.  The 
Exposition  on  the  Prophets^  in  two  folios,  was  issued  in 
1757,  1758.  The  remaining  volumes  appeared  in  1763, 
1764,  1765,  and  1766.  Truly  it  was  a  gigantic  under- 
taking ! 

The  particular  excellence  of  this  work  lies  in  its  plain, 
strong  sense,  its  perspicuous  style,  the  care  with  which 
every  sentence  and  almost  every  word  is  explained — and 
especially,  the  light  thrown  upon  many  passages  by  ex- 
tracts from  Jewish  authors.  Dr.  Gill  was  a  profound 
Rabbinical  scholar.  He  was  familiar  with  the  whole 
circle  of  Jewish  literature.  None  could  compete  with 
him  on  this  his  own  ground. 

A  judicious  reader  may  derive  much  benefit  from  the 


THE   J^UIET  PERIOD.  509 

jse  of  Dr.  Gill's  Exposition.  He  will  know  how  to 
supply  his  deficiencies,  and  he  will  abstain  from  follow- 
ing him  in  the  interpretation  of  allegorical  passages.  For 
the  results  of  modern  criticism  he  must  repair,  of  course, 
to  other  sources.  But  this  Expositio7i  will  ever  be  a 
mine  which  will  repay  the  labors  of  the  disci-eet  ex- 
plore. 

In  addition  to  the  Exposition^  Dr.  Gill  published  a 
Body  of  Divi7tity^  in  three  quarto  volumes,  which,  like 
the  Expositun.,  was  first  preached  to  his  congregation  : — 
The  Cause  of  God  and  Truth,  being  an  examination 
of  all  the  passages  of  Scripture  usually  adduced  in  the 
Arminian  Controversy  ; — and  Sermons  ajid  Tracts  (in- 
cluding a  learned  Dissertation  on  the  Antiquity  of  the 
Hebre-M  Lajiguag-e),  in  three  volumes,  4to. 

Dr.  Gill's  preaching  was  rather  solid  than  attractive. 
Like  Messrs.  Skepp  and  Brine,  he  abstained  from  per- 
sonal addresses  to  sinners  by  inviting  them  to  the 
Saviour,  and  satisfied  himself  with  declaring  their  guilt 
and  doom,  and  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  the  congregation  declined  under  such 
a  ministry.  His  steady  refusal  to  have  an  assistant  or 
co-pastor  operated  also  injuriously  on  the  welfare  of  the 
church. 

He  preached  but  once  on  the  Lord's  Day  during  the 
last  two  years  of  his  life.  Yet  he  labored  on  in  his  study 
till  within  a  fortnight  of  his  death.  A  short  time  before 
that  event  he  said  to  his  nephew,  the  Rev.  John  Gill,  of 
St.  Alban's,  "  I  depend  wholly  and  alone  upon  the  free, 
sovereign,  eternal,  unchangeable  love  of  God,  the  firm 
and  everlasting  covenant  of  grace,  and  my  interest  in  the 
Persons  of  the  Trinity,  for  my  whole  saJ.va.tion ;  and  not 
43* 


5IO  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

upon  any  righteousness  of  my  own,  nor  on  anyt.iii.g  in 
me,  nor  done  by  me  under  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  not  upon  any  services  of  mine,  which  I  have  been 
assisted  to  perform  for  the  good  of  the  church  ;  but  upon 
my  interest  in  the  Persons  of  the  Trinity,  the  free  grace 
of  God,  and  the  blessings  of  grace  streaming  to  me 
through  the  blood  and  righteousness  of  Christ,  as  the 
ground  of  my  hope.  These  are  no  new  things  to  me, 
but  what  I  have  been  long  acquainted  with — ivhat  I  ca.?i 
live  a?td  die  by."  ' 

Dr.  Gill  died  October  14,  1771,  in  the  74th  year  of  his 
age,  having  been  fifty-one  years  pastor  of  the  church. 

Robert  Hall  "  did  not  like  Dr.  Gill  as  an  author. 
When  Mr.  Christmas  Evans  was  in  Bristol,  he  was  talk- 
ing to  Mr.  Hall  about  the  Welsh  language,  which  he  said 
was  very  copious  and  expressive.  '  How  I  wish,  Mr. 
Hall,  that  Dr.  Gill's  works  had  been  written  in  Welsh.' 
— '  I  wish  they  had,  sir ;  I  wish  they  had,  with  all  my 
heart,  for  then  I  should  never  have  read  them.  They  are 
a  continent  of  mud,  sir.'  "  "^ 

This  was  a  severe  verdict.  But  it  was  the  language 
of  an  eccentric  though  wonderfully  great  man,  whose 
elegant  taste  was  shocked  by  what  he  deemed  the  un- 
couth bluntness  of  Dr.  Gill's  style  ;  probably,  also,  he 
was  repelled  by  the  sternness  or  the  obscurity  of  some  of 
his  opinions. 

Mr.  Walter  Wilson,  a  Paedobaptist,  author  of  Th& 
History  a?zd  Aiitiquities  of  the  Disse?zting  Churches 
m  London.,  gives  a  different  decision.  He  says,  "  Such 
were  the  life  and  death  of  Dr.  Gill,  who,  for  the  value 

iRippon's  Memoir  of  Dr.  Gill,  p.  134. 
2  Works,  vi.  125.     London  Edition,  8vo. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  5'- 

and  extent  of  his  writings,  will  be  considered  by  future 
generations  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  church." 

The  Rev.  Augustus  Tqplady,  an  Episcopalian  clergy- 
man, writes  as  follows:  "  If  any  one  man  can  be  sup- 
posed to  have  trod  the  whole  circle  of  human  learning, 
it  was  Dr.  Gill.  His  attainments,  both  in  abstruse  and 
polite  literature,  were  (what  is  very  uncommon)  equally 
extensive  and  profound.  Providence  had  to  this  end 
endued  him  with  a  firmness  of  constitution  and  an  un- 
remitting vigor  of  mind  which  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  of 
the  sedentary  and  learned.  It  would,  perhaps,  try  the 
constitutions  of  half  the  literati  in  England  only  to 
read,  with  care  and  attention,  the  whole  of  what  he 
wrote. 

"  The  doctor  considered  not  any  subject  superficially, 
or  by  halves.  As  deeply  as  human  sagacity  enlightened 
by  grace  could  penetrate,  he  went  to  the  bottom  of  every- 
thing he  engaged  in.  With  a  solidity  of  judgment  and 
with  an  acuteness  of  discernment  peculiar  to  few,  he 
exhausted,  as  it  were,  the  very  soul  and  substance  of 
most  arguments  he  undertook.  His  style,  too,  resembles 
himself;  it  is  manly,  nervous,  plain  ;  conscious,  if  I  may 
so  speak,  of  the  unutterable  dignity,  value,  and  import- 
ance of  the  freight  it  conveys,  it  drives  directly  and  per- 
spicuously to  the  point  in  view,  regardless  of  affected 
cadence,  and   superior  to  the  little  niceties  of  professed 

refinement. 

*  *  *  *  * 

"  His  learning  and  labors,  if  exceedable,  were  ex- 
ceeded only  by  the  invariable  sanctity  of  his  life  and  con- 
versation. From  his  childhood  to  his  entrance  on  the 
ministry,  and  from  his  entrance  on  the  ministry  to  the 


513  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

moment  of  his  dissolution,  not  one  of  his  most  inveterate 
opposers  was  ever  able  to  charge  him  with  the  least 
shadow  of  immorality.  Himself,  no  less  than  his  writ- 
ings, demonstrated  that  the  doctrine  of  grace  does  not  lead 
to  licentiousness. 

***** 
"  His  doctrinal  and  practical  writings  will  live  and  be 
admired,  and  be  a  standing  blessing  to  posterity,  when 
thc'r  opposers  are  forgotten,  or  only  remembered  by  the 
reputation  he  has  given  them.  While  true  religion  and 
sound  learning  have  a  single  friend  remaining  in  the 
British  empire,  the  works  and  name  of  Gill  will  be  pre- 
cious and  preserved."  ^ 

I  will  close  this  account  with  an  anecdote  of  Dr.  Gill. 
A  weekly  lecture  was  established  at  Lime  Street,  London, 
in  1730,  for  the  purpose  of  counteracting  certain  infidel 
and  erroneous  sentiments  then  beginning  to  prevail.  Nine 
lecturers  were  appointed,  seven  of  whom  were  Indepen- 
dents and  two  Baptists,  viz..  Dr.  Gill  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Wilson.  Dr.  Abraham  Taylor,  who  delivered  two  of  the 
lectures,  took  occasion  to  animadvert,  in  severe  terms,  on 
Calvinistic  tenets,  upon  which  a  controversy  arose  be- 
tween him  and  Dr.  Gill.  "  When  Dr.  Gill  first  wrote 
against  Dr.  Abraham  Taylor,  some  of  the  friends  of  the 
latter  called  on  Dr.  Gill  to  dissuade  him  from  proceeding, 
telling  him  that  he  would  lose  the  esteem  and  the  subscrip- 
tion of  some  wealthy  persons  who  were  Dr.  Taylor's 
friends.  '  Don^t  tell  me  of  losittg^  replied  Dr.  Gill ;  '/ 
value  nothing  in  comparison  ivith  gospel  truths;  I  afn 
not  afraid  to  be  poor.''  "  * 
JohnMacgov/an,  who  was  fifteen  years  pastor  of  the 

'  P..iupon,  pp.  137-140.  *  Ivimey,  iii.  203. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  513 

church  in  Devonshire  Square,  London,  has  acquired  con« 
siderable  celebrity  among  authors,  by  his  Dialogues  of 
Devils^  in  which  he  satirizes  the  follies,  vices,  and  incon- 
sistencies of  men,  especially  of  professing  Christians,  in 
a  masterly  manner.  Some  affect  to  be  greatly  sho'-ked 
at  the  dramatic  style  of  the  work,  and  the  language  as- 
cribed to  the  interlocutors  in  the  dialogues ;  but,  for  my 
part,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  there  is  a  marvellous 
vein  of  naturalness  in  the  supposed  reports  of  the  confer- 
ences of  the  diabolical  preachers ;  and  I  am  disposed  to 
believe  that  the  devil  has  more  to  do  with  much  that  oc- 
curs in  human  history  than  is  commonly  imagined.  If 
the  existence  and  operations  of  good  and  evil  spirits  were 
more  thoroughly  realized  by  Christians  generally,  it  might 
be  useful  to  them.  # 

In  another  publication  by  Mr.  Macgowan,  entitled, 
The  Shaver.,  or  Priestcraft  defended ;  a  Sermon  occa- 
sioned by  the  Expulsion  of  Six  Toung  Gentlemen  from 
the  University  of  Oxford.,  for  fraying.,  reading.,  and 
expounding  the  Scriptures — he  inflicted  a  well-merited 
rebuke  on  the  university  authorities,  and  held  them  up  to 
ridicule  for  their  antireligious  propensities,  and  the  folly 
of  their  endeavor  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  revival,  to 
which,  by  God's  blessing,  even  the  Church  of  England 
has  been  largely  indebted. 

Mr.  Macgowan  died  November  25,  1780,  in  the  fifty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  to  give  a  pleasing  and  favorable 
portraiture  of  the  celebrated  Robert  Robinson.  Gifted 
with  remarkable  talents — of  sprightly  genius — vigorous 
in  imagination — capable  of  writing  in  an  easy,  clear, 
and    flowing  style — and  well-informed  on  all  subjects— 


SH  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

he  might  have  rendered  eminent  service  to  the  cause  of 
truth  had  truth  really  obtained  a  lodgment  in  his  heart. 

Mr.  Robinson  professed  to  be  converted  under  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Whitefield.  He  began  to  preach  almost 
immediately  after  his  baptism.  He  took  charge  of  a 
small  church  at  Cambridge,  with  which  he  continued  all 
his  life.  As  a  preacher  he  was  deservedly  popular  with 
all  classes.  The  educated  admired  his  discourses ;  the 
illiterate  could  understand  them.  As  a  writer,  he  at- 
tracted great  attention.  His  Village  Discourses  are 
models  of  exquisite  tact  in  the  adaptation  of  style  and 
manner  to  special  circumstances.  To  his  translation  of 
Claude's  Essay  on  the  Composition  of  a  Sermon^  he  ap- 
pended voluminous  notes,  curious  and  instructive,  con- 
taining plans  of»sermons,  illustrative  of  the  advice  given 
by  the  author,  together  with  pertinent  and  pithy  observa- 
tions. His  Tracts  on  Nonconformity  were  like  "  sharp 
arrows  of  the  mighty  with  coals  of  juniper."  The  His- 
tory of  Baptism  exhausts  the  subject ;  all  writers  on  the 
controversy,  on  our  side  of  the  question,  make  use  of  the 
work.  When  he  compiled  his  Ecclesiastical  Researches 
he  had  renounced  the  Trinity  and  other  truths  connected 
with  it.  The  effects  of  his  change  of  sentiments  appear 
in  every  part  of  the  volume.  There  is  a  constant  en- 
deavor to  write  down  the  Orthodox  or  Trinitarian  party, 
while  all  excellence  is  ascribed  to  Arianism  and  other 
istns  of  a  lower  kind.  But,  being  a  posthumous  vyork,  it 
is  less  open  to  criticism,  as  it  did  not  receive  a  final  re- 
vision from  the  author ;  I  will  only  add,  therefore,  that 
the  statements  in  the  text  should  be  always  carefully  com- 
pared with  the  authorities  cited  in  the  notes,  and  that 
the  originals  should  be  consulted,  whenever  practicable. 


THE    ^UIET  PERIOD.  515 

Mr.  Robinson  died  at  Birmingham,  June  9,  1790,  in 
the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  had  preached  in  Dr. 
Priestley's  meeting-house  on  the  preceding  Lord's  Day. 
*'His  discourse,"  said  Dr.  P.,  "was  unconnected  and  de- 
sultory, and  his  manner  of  treating  the  Trinity  savored 
rather  of  burlesque  than  serious  reasoning.  He  attacked 
orthodoxy  more  pointedly  and  sarcastically  than  I  ever  did 
in  my  life."^  On  the  following  Tuesday  morning  he  was 
found  dead  in  his  bed.  What  a  difference  between  his 
beautiful  hymn,  "  Mighty  God,  while  angels  bless  thee," 
etc.,  and  that  last  sermon  ! 

Robert  Hall,  of  Arnsby,  has  been  mentioned  as  the 
author  of  the  valuable  and  useful  book,  Help  to  Zion's 
Travelers.  He  also  wrote  several  of  the  Circular  Letters 
of  the  Northamptonshire  Association,  which  were  in  fact 
brief  treatises  on  doctrinal  and  practical  subjects.  Mr. 
Hall  died  March  13,  1791. 

John  Collett  Ryland,  A.M.,  was,  in  some  respects, 
an  extraordinary  man,  though  now  reckoned  among  the 
forgotten  ones.  His  Contemplations  on  Religious  Sub- 
jects (in  three  volumes,  8vo.)  were  received  by  the  pub- 
lic with  considerable  favor.  His  address  at  the  grave  of 
Dr.  Andrew  Giffbrd,  entitled  The  First  and  Second 
Coming  of  Christ  Contrasted.,  was  a  rare  specimen  of 
sublime  eloquence.  He  was  an  enthusiast  in  education, 
and  his  influence  over  the  young  was  peculiarly  powerful. 
After  a  successful  ministry  at  Northampton,  where  he 
labored  twenty-six  years,  he  resigned  his  charge  into  the 
hands  of  his  son,  afterward  Dr.  Ryland,  of  Bristol,  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  at  Enfield,  Middlesex. 
There  he  presided  over  a  large  and  flourishing  school,  in 

'  Dyer's  Memoir  of  Robinson,  p.  397. 


$l6  BAPTIST  HISTOR'i. 

which  many  were  trained  for  future  usefulness.  Tne  laite 
Dr.  Newman,  of  Stepney  College,  was  for  some  time  his 
assistant.  Mr.  Ryland  died  July  24,  1792.  "Well  do  I 
remember,"  said  Dr.  Newman,  more  than  forty  years 
afterward,  "  the  awful  stillness  of  that  evening.  I  felt 
as  if  all  the  world  were  dead  !  .  .  .  When  a  large  allow- 
ance has  been  made  for  his  eccentricities,  we  shall  und 
much  to  admire  in  his  quick  apprehension — his  lively 
imagination — his  tenacious  memory.  To  use  an  expres- 
sion of  his  own,  '  All  his  brains  were  fish-hooks.'  Who 
that  ever  knew  him  did  not  express  astonishment  at  his 
insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge  ;  his  unwearied  zeal  in  the 
instruction  of  the  rising  generation  ;  his  aptness  to  teach  ; 
his  tongue  of  fire?  Surely  there  are  some  still  living 
that  can  never  forget  his  love  of  country ;  his  ardor  in 
the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  ;  his  childlike, 
unsuspecting  simplicity  ;  his  noble  disinterestedness,  and 
uniform  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  God  and  truth  ;  the 
unimpeachable  integrity  and  purity  of  his  life,  from  the 
period  of  his  conversion  to  his  death  ;  his  affection  for  all 
good  men ;  and  especially  the  condescending  encourage- 
ment he  gave  to  the  young,  the  poor,  and  the  weak,  among 
his  brethren  in  the  ministry."^ 

The  Baptist  denomination  is  under  deep  obligations  to 
the  Stennett  family.  Edward  Stennett  was  some 
time  pastor  of  the  church  at  Pinner's  Hall,  London, 
where  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Joseph,  in  the  year 
1690,  who  presided  over  the  church  till  his  death,  in  1713. 
Both  were  Sabbatarians.  Distinguished  among  his 
brethren  for  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  literary  acquire- 
ments, his  earnestness  of  soul,  his  profound  and  practical 
'  Pritchard's  Memoir  of  Dr.  Newman,  p.  51. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  517 

wisdom,  and  his  unswerving  integrity,  Mr.  Joseph  Sten- 
NETT  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  religious  parties. 
If  he  would  have  conformed  to  the  Church  of  England 
he  might  have  attained  an  exalted  position  ;  but  he  was 
proof  against  temptation,  though  liberal  offers  were  made 
him.  His  influence  was  known  to  be  powerful,  and 
strenuous  efforts  were  employed  by  the  coui't,  in  the  latter 
end  of  Qiieen  Anne's  reign,  to  gain  him  over  to  the  Tory 
policy,  in  the  hope  that  other  Dissenters  might  be  induced 
to  follow  him.  Mr.  Stennett  understood  the  principles 
of  freedom  too  well  to  be  caught  in  such  a  trap.  His 
firmness  had  a  happy  effect  on  others.  Numerous  treat- 
ises on  religious  subjects  and  a  considerable  number  of 
poetical  compositions  were  published  by  Mr.  Stennett. 
A  collected  edition  of  his  works  was  issued  after  his 
death.  He  is  most  advantageously  known  among  Bap- 
tists by  his  Answer  to  Russen^  a  learned  and  elaborate 
work  on  baptism,  to  which  succeeding  writers  have  been 
much  indebted. 

His  son  and  grandson  were  also  "  shining  lights." 
Dr.  Joseph  Stennett,  who  died  February  7,  1758, 
was  upward  of  twenty  years  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Little  Wild  Street,  London.  He  distinguished  himself 
for  loyalty  and  patriotism  during  the  rebellion  in  1745. 
He  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  the  king,  George  II.,  and  was 
on  terms  of  friendship  with  some  of  the  great  ones  of  the 
day.  Adverting  to  an  interview  with  the  then  bishop  of 
London,  Dr.  Gibson,  he  said  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  "  I 
told  his  lordship  that  I  more  than  ever  saw  the  useful- 
ness of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  for,  considering 
how  little  the  Scriptures  are  read  by  the  common  people, 
and  how  little  the  gospel  preached  by  the  clergy,  if  it 


5l8  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

were  not  for  what  is  said  of  Christ  in  the  prayer  book, 
multitudes  would  forget  there  was  any  isuch  Person.  He 
heartily  joined  in  my  observation,  and  told  me  he  had 
lately  heard  a  sermon  by  an  eminent  preacher,  who 
seemed  to  labor  to  keep  the  name  of  Christ  out  of  it. 
'  For  my  part,'  added  he,  '  my  time  is  now  short,  and 
therefore  my  charge  to  all  my  clergy  is  short  too.'  I  say 
to  all  of  them  that  come  to  me, '  See  to  it  that  you  preach 
Jesus  Christ ;  don't  preach  Seneca,  nor  Plato,  but  preach 
Jesus  Christ.' "  ^ 

Dr.  Samuel  Stennett,  son  of  the  above,  succeeded 
his  father  at  Little  Wild  Street,  and  held  the  pastorate 
till  his  death.  He  had  been  assistant-pastor  for  ten  years 
previously.  Few  men  have  risen  so  high  in  general  esti- 
mation. His  learning — his  discretion — his  benevolence 
— his  earnest  zeal — his  holy  and  uniformly  consistent  con- 
duct, secured  for  him  an  amount  and  power  of  influence 
rarely  enjoyed.  His  pulpit  labors  were  highly  appreci- 
ated ;  his  writings  were  acceptable  and  much  valued. 
Besides  two  treatises  on  the  baptismal  controversy,  he 
published  three  volumes  of  discourses.  On  Personal 
Religion^  On  Domestic  Duties^  and  On  the  Parable  of 
the  Sower. 

The  celebrated  John  Howard  honored  Dr.  Stennett 
with  his  friendship,  and  was  accustomed  to  attend  his 
ministry  when  he  visited  London.  In  a  letter  addressed 
to  him  from  Smyrna,  dated  August  ii,  1786,  he  says: 
"  With  unabated  pleasure  I  have  attended  your  ministry  ; 
no  man  ever  entered  more  into  my  religious  sentiments, 
or  more  happily  expressed  them.  It  was  some  little  dis- 
appointment when  any  one  occupied  your  pulpit.  Oh^ 
*  Ivimey,  iii.  581. 


TIE   ^UIET  PERIO.D.  519 

sir,  how  many  Sabbaths  have  I  ardently  longed  to  spend 
in  Wild  Street :  on  those  days  I  generally  rest,  or,  if  at 
sea,  keep  retired  in  my  little  cabin.  It  is  you  that 
preach,  and  I  bless  God  I  attend  with  renewed  pleasure. 
God  in  Christ  is  my  rock,  the  portion  of  my  soul.  I 
have  little  more  to  add — but  accept  my  renewed  thanks. 
I  bless  God  for  your  ministry ;  I  pray  God  reward  you 
a  thousand- fold. "^     Dr.  Stennett  died  August  24,  1795. 

Benjamin  Beddome,  A.M.,  who  ministered  to  the 
church  at  Bourton  on  the  Water  more  than  fifty-four 
years,  was  one  of  those  whose  "  memory  is  blessed." 
We  are  indebted  to  him  for  many  excellent  hymns,  in 
the  use  of  which  the  churches  praise  God,  and  will  pro- 
bably continue  to  praise  him  for  many  ages  yet  to  come. 
He  was  accustomed  for  a  long  time  to  compose  a  hymn 
to  be  sung  after  his  sermon  on  the  Lord's  Day  morning ; 
these  were  afterward  collected  into  a  volume.  It  was 
somewhat  remarkable  that,  having  preached  on  Lord's 
Day,  January  4,  177S,  from  Psalm  xxxi.  15:  "  My  times 
are  in  thy  hand,"  and  read  at  the  close  of  the  discourse 
that  most  appropriate  hymn,  "  My  times  of  sorrow  and 
of  joy,"  etc.,  he  received  intelligence  next  morning  of  the 
sudden  death  of  his  son,  a  young  physician  of  great  prom- 
ise. God  had  graciously  prepared  him  for  the  stroke 
by  the  spiritual  exercises  connected  with  the  sermon  and 
hymn. 

A  writer  in  the  Baptist  Register^  probably  Dr.  Rippon, 
gives  the  following  account  of  Mr.  Beddome's  preach- 
ing: 

"  The  labors  of  this  goo4  man  among  his  charge  were 
unremitted  and  evangelical.  He  fed  them  with  the  finest 
'  Baptist  Magazine,  1843,  p.  142. 


530  BAPTIST  HIST  OR  r. 

of  the  wheat.  No  man  in  all  his  connections  wrote  more 
sermons,  nor  composed  them  with  greater  care ;  and  this 
was  true  of  him  to  the  last  weeks  of  his  life.  In  most 
of  his  discourses  the  appreciation  of  a  student  and  the 
ability  of  a  divine  were  visible.  He  frequently  differed 
from  the  generality  of  preachers  by  somewhat  striking 
either  in  his  text  or  in  his  method.  If  the  passage  were 
peculiar  or  abstruse,  simplicity  of  illustration  and  famil- 
iarity in  discussion  characterized  the  sermon  ;  or  if  his 
text  were  of  the  most  familiar  class,  he  distributed  it  with 
novelty,  discussed  it  with  genius,  and  seldom  delivered  a 
hackneyed  discourse.  Indeed,  sermonizing  was  so  much 
his  forte  that  at  length,  when  knowledge  had  received 
maturity  from  years,  and  composition  was  familiarized 
by  habit,  he  has  been  known,  with  a  wonderful  facility  of 
the  moment,  to  sketch  his  picture  at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit 
stairs,  to  color  it  as  he  was  ascending,  and,  without 
turning  his  eyes  from  the  canvas,  in  the  same  hour  to 
give  it  all  the  finish  of  a  master.  One  instance  of  this 
will  long  be  remembered,  which  happened  at  a  ministers* 
meeting  at  Fairford,  in  Gloucestershire.  After  public 
service  began,  his  natural  timidity,  it  seems,  overcame 
his  recollections.  His  text  and  his  discourse,  for  he  did 
not  preach  by  notes,  had  left  him  ;  and  in  the  way  from 
the  pew  to  the  pulpit  he  leaned  his  head  over  the  shoulder 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davis,  pastor  of  the  place,  and  said, 
*  Brother  Davis,  what  must  I  preach  from  V  Mr.  Davis, 
thinking  he  could  not  be  at  a  loss,  answered,  '  Ask  no 
foolish  questions.'  This  afforded  him  considerable  relief. 
He  turned  immediately  to  Titus  iii.  9,  'Avoid  foolish 
questions ;'  and  he  preached  a  remarkably  methodical, 
correct,  and  useful  discourse  on  it." 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  5a I 

Mr.  Beddome  died  September  3,  1797,  in  the  seventy- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.  Three  volumes  of  his  sermons 
were  published  after  his  death,  and  extensively  circulated. 

Samuel  Pearce,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Cannon 
Street,  Birmingiiam,  died  October  10,  1799.  He  was 
greatly  beloved  by  his  brethren,  and  justly  so ;  for  his 
character  was  an  embodiment  of  Christian  loveliness. 
Born  at  Plymouth,  July  20,  1766,  converted  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  called  to  the  ministry  by  the  church  in  1786, 
he  studied  at  Bristol  College,  under  Dr.  Caleb  Evans, 
and  was  ordained  at  Birmingham  in  1790.  His  ministry 
in  that  town  was  eminently  successful,  because  it  was 
evangelical  to  the  core,  and  because  it  was  recommended 
and  supplemented  by  his  seraphic  and  consistent  piety. 
Three  hundred  and  thirty-five  persons  were  added  to  the 
church  during  his  pastorate. 

Mr.  Pearce  was  extremely  desirous  of  joining  Dr.  Carey 
in  missionary  labors,  but  yielded  to  the  advice  of  his 
friends  and  brethren,  who  judged  that  he  could  not  be 
spared  from  England.  They  were  compelled  to  give  him 
up,  however,  for  his  Lord  summoned  him  to  the  palace 
above. 

During  a  protracted  and  painful  illness  he  exemplified 
Christian  character  in  some  of  its  sublimest  aspects. 
"  Of  all  the  ways  of  dying,"  he  observed,  a  short  time 
)efore  his  departure,  "  that  which  I  most  dreaded  was 
by  a  consumption,  in  which  it  is  now  highly  probable 
my  disorder  will  issue.  But,  O  my  dear  Lord,  //"by  this 
dsaih  I  can  most  glorify  thee.,  I  prefer  it  to  all  others, 
and  thank  thee  that,  by  this  means,  thou  art  hastening 
my  fuller  enjoyment  of  thee  in  a  purer  world."  Surely, 
tliat  was  heroism. 
44  « 


532  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

"  We  have  seen  men,"  said  Mr.  Fuller,  "  rise  high 
in  contemplation,  who  have  abounded  but  little  in  action. 
We  have  seen  zeal  mingled  with  liitterness,  and  candor 
degenerate  into  indifference  ;  experimental  religion  mixed 
with  a  large  portion  of  enthusiasm  ;  and  what  is  called 
rational  religion  void  of  everything  that  interests  the 
heart  of  man.  We  have  seen  splendid  talents  tarnished 
with  insufferable  pride ;  seriousness  with  melancholy ; 
cheerfulness  with  levity  ;  and  great  attainments  in  religion 
with  uncharitable  censoriousness  toward  men  of  low 
degree  ; — but  we  have  not  seen  these  things  in  our  brother 
Pearce.'" 

A  few  more  names  may  be  more  briefly  referred  to. 
John  Piggott  was  several  years  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Little  Wild  Street.  He  was  a  powerful  and  popular 
preacher,  and  a  leading  man  in  the  denomination. 
Preaching  at  the  first  meeting  of  an  Association  of  Bap- 
tist churches  in  London  in  1704,  he  said,  "We  have 
work  of  the  highest  importance  on  our  hands  ;  let  us  not 
waste  the  little  time  we  have  to  do  it  in.  It  was  a  cut- 
ting reproof  which  the  mariners  gave  the  philosopher, 
who  would  have  entertained  them  with  an  impertinent 
harangue  in  the  midst  of  a  storm — '  We  perish  while  thou 
triflest.'  All  our  warm  disputes  about  indifferent  things 
are  but  laborious  trifling."^     Mr.  Piggott  died  in  March, 

1713- 

Edward  Wallin  (died  in  1753)  and  his  son,  Ben- 
jamin Wallin  (died  in  1782),  were  pastors  of  the  church 
in  Maze  Pond,  London  ;  the  first  for  twenty  years,  the 

'  Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Pearce,  M.   A.      Works   (American 
Edition),  iii.  43c. 
«  Ivimey,  ii.  452. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  523 

second  for  forty  years.  They  were  exceedingly  beloved 
and  revered. 

Samuel  Wilson,  upward  of  twenty  years  pastor  of 
the  church  in  Prescot  Street,  London — of  whom  Dr.  Gill 
said,  "  He  came  forth,  even  at  first,  with  clear  evan- 
gelical light,  with  great  warmth,  zeal,  and  fervency  of 
spirit,  and,  like  another  Apollos,  with  a  torrent  of  elo- 
quence, being  mighty  in  the  Scriptures" — died  in  1750, 
in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  Scripture 
Alanual.,  or  a  Plain  Representation  of  the  Ordinance 
of  Baptism.,  is  a  useful  tract,  and  by  it  his  memory  will 
be  perpetuated. 

Dr.  Andrew  Gifford,  whose  father  and  grandfather 
had  been  pastors  of  the  Pithay  Church,  Bristol,  pre  .ided 
over  the  church  in  Eagle  Street,  London,  nearly  fifty 
years.  His  ministry  was  remarkably  successful.  He 
was  a  thoroughly  learned  man,  and  possessed  exc  Hent 
taste  and  judgment  in  regard  to  coins,  manuscriptL,  and 
other  relics  of  antiquity.  In  1757  he  was  appomted 
Assistant  Librarian  to  the  British  Museum,  which  situa- 
tion he  held  till  his  death.  The  following  anecdote  is 
worthy  of  preservation :  "  Some  gentlemen  were  in- 
specting the  Museum,  under  the  Doctor's  guidance, 
amongst  whom  was  a  profane  youth,  who  hardly  uttered 
a  sentence  without  taking  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  vain. 
The  Doctor,  who  had  kept  his  eye  upon  him,  was  at 
length  asked  by  him,  'Whether  they  had  not  a  very 
ancient  manuscript  of  the  Bible  there.?'  On  coming  to 
it,  the  Doctor  asked  the  youth  if  he  could  read  it.  Being 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  the  Doctor  wished  him  to 
read  a  paragraph  which  he  pointed  out.  It  was,  '  Thou 
shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vam.' 


524  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

The  li  reverent  youth  read,  and  blushed  ;  the  countenances 
of  his  companions  seemed  to  acknowledge  the  justness  of 
the  reproof,  and  the  polite  and  Christian  manner  in  which 
it  was  administered,"^ 

Dr.  Giffcrd  died  July  19,  1784,  in  the  eighty-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  in  Bunhill  Fields,  at  an 
early  hour  in  the  morning,  in  compliance  with  his  own 
wish,  "  tc  testify  his  faith  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
who  arose  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  like- 
wise his  hope  of  the  resurrection  morning  at  the  last 
day." 

Honorable  mention  should  be  made  of  some  other 
Baptists,  not  in  the  ministry,  who  lived  during  this 
period. 

MoRDECAi  Abbott,  Esq.,  after  filling  other  ofiices 
under  government,  became  Receiver-General  of  the  Cus- 
toms. But  he  held  fast  his  nonconformity,  and  refused  to 
qualify  for  office,  as  the  Test  Act  required,  by  receiving 
the  Lord's  supper  in  the  Church  of  England.  His  high 
reputation,  and  the  esteem  with  which  he  was  regarded 
by  the  king,  William  III.,  saved  him  from  persecution. 
Mr.  Abbott  remained  a  consistent  Dissenter  and  a  Baptist, 
under  circumstances  of  great  trial  and  difficulty.  He 
died  February  29,  1 699-1 700,  in  the  forty-fourth  year  of 
Iiis  age. 

Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.,  was  more  than  sixty  years  a 
member  of  the  same  church,  Pinner's  Hall.  He  vied 
with  Mr.  Abbott  in  liberality  and  zeal.  Both  of  them 
"  lavished  gold  out  of  the  bag "  for  the  support  of  edu- 
cation and  religion.  Mr.  Hollis,  in  particular,  "denied 
himself  and  lived  frugal,  that  he  might  more  extensively 
*  Funeral  Sermon  by  Dr.  Rippon,  p.  41. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  525 

express  his  goodness."  He  died  September  12,  1718. 
He  was  blind  many  years  before  his  death. 

His  two  sons,  Thomas  and  John  Hollis,  were  also 
members  of  the  same  church.  Thomas  joined  the  chun:h 
in  the  year  16S0,  and  was  fifty  years  a  member;  he  died 
January  13,  1730,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age. 
His  name  has  been  handed  down  to  posterity  as  one  of 
the  most  liberal  benefiictors  to  Harvard  College,  Massa- 
chusetts. "  In  1720,  Mr.  Hollis  sent  over  so  much  money 
as  to  found  a  professorship  of  theology  in  Harvard 
College,  with  a  salary  of  eighty  pounds  a  year  to  the  pro- 
fessor, and  ten  pounds  per  annum  to  ten  scholars  of  good 
character,  four  of  whom  should  be  Baptists,  if  any  such 
were  there  ;  also  ten  pounds  a  year  to  the  college  treasurer 
for  his  trouble,  and  ten  pounds  more  to  supply  accidental 
losses  or  to  increase  the  number  of  students.  And  in 
1726  he  founded  in  that  college  a  professorship  of  the 
mathematics  and  experimental  philosophy,  with  a  salary 
of  eighty  pounds  a  year  to  the  professor  ;  and  he  sent  over 
an  apparatus  for  the  purpose,  which  cost  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  sterling,  besides  additions  to  the 
college  library.  No  man  had  ever  been  so  liberal  to  it 
before  as  was  this  Baptist  gentleman.'"  But  the  theo- 
logical sentiments  held  by  Mr.  Hollis  are  not  now  taught 
in  Harvard  University. 

Joseph  Lovering,  Esq.,  A.M.,  is  now  "Hollis  Pro- 
fessor of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy."  There 
is  no  •'  Hollis  Professor  of  Divinity"  at  present.  One  of 
the  halls  of  the  college  is  called  "  Hollis  Hall." 

John  Hollis  did  not  attain  the  renown  of  his  brother 
Thomas ;  yet  he  too  was  a  generous  upholder  of  useful 
I  Backus'  History  of  the  Baptists  in  New  England,  chap.  vii. 


526  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

institutions,  and  annually  contributed  large  sums  toward 
their  support.  He  bequeathed  eleven  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  yearly  distributed 
among  the  poor  of  several  Baptist  churches. 

Many  excellent  hymns  sung  by  us  in  public  worship 
bear  the  name  of  "  Steele."  The  writer  was  a  lady — 
Miss  Anne  Steele,  daughter  of  a  Baptist  minister  in 
Hampshire.  She  "  discovered  in  early  life  her  love  of 
the  Muses,  and  often  entertained  her  friends  with  the 
truly  poetical  and  pious  productions  of  her  pen."  Two 
volumes  were  published  during  her  lifetime,  and  a  third 
appeared  in  1780,  after  her  death.  The  profits  of  her 
works  were  appropriated  to  benevolent  objects. 

Another  lady,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Seward,  widow  of 
Benjamin  Seward,  Esq.,  of  Evesham,  Worcestershire, 
bequeathed  the  sum  of  four  thousand  five  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds,  the  interest  whereof  was  directed  to  be"  an- 
nually distributed  amongst  the  ministers  or  the  poor  of 
several  Baptist  churches  named  in  the  will,  in  the  pro- 
portions therein  specified.  England  abounds  in  voluntiry 
endowments  of  that  kind,  among  all  denominations. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Progress  of  the  Denomination  in  North  America— Sufferings  in  New 
England — Mrs.  Elizabeth  Backus — Mrs.  Kimball — Virginia — White- 
field's  Preaching— The  "  New  Lights" — First  Churches  in  Different 
States — Philadelphia  Association— Other  Associations — Correspond- 
ence with  London  Ministers— Great  Revivals— Brown  University — 
Nova  Scotia — New  Brunswick — Canada. 

AT  the  commencement  of  this  period  there  were  but 
thirteen  Baptist  churches  in  North  America.  In 
the  year  1740,  the  number  of  churches  was  thirty-seven, 
with  less  than  3000  members.  But  in  1790  there  were 
873  churches,  containing  64,975  members.  Twenty-four 
new  churches  were  formed  in  the  first  half  of  the  period  ; 
in  the  second  half,  no  fewer  than  835  churches.  This  is 
surely  a  wonderful  increase. 

Our  Baptist  forefathers  had  a  hard  struggle  in  the 
New  England  States.  The  Congregationalists  were  the 
"  Standing  Order,"  and  the  support  of  their  ministers 
was  provided  for  by  law,  in  the  shape  of  a  tax  levied  on 
all  the  inhabitants.  They  had  fled  from  one  establish- 
ment, and  they  set  up  another  !  A  backward  movement 
had  taken  place  in  the  introduction  of  the  "  half-way 
covenant,"  which  filled  the  churches  with  men  who  were 

627 


5*8  BAPTIST  HIST  OR  r. 

strangers  to  godliness.'  The  assessment  for  ministers* 
salaries  was  rigorously  enforced.  It  was  in  vain  that  the 
Baptists  pleaded  their  conscientious  dissent  from  the 
"  Standing  Order,"  and  the  obligation  under  which  they 
Jay  to  support  their  own  ministers.  Their  oppressors 
w^ould  not  listen,  nor  abate  one  jot  of  their  demands. 
The  scourge  was  in  their  hands,  and  they  applied  it 
without  mercy. 

"  From  the  year  1692  to  the  year  1728,  the  Baptists 
were  everywhere,  except  in  Boston  and  some  few  other 
towns,  taxed  for  the  support  of  Congregational  ministers. 
The  fact  of  their  maintaining  worship  by  themselves  was 
not  allowed  to  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  exempting  them 
from  rates  to  sustain  a  ministry  which  in  point  of  con- 
science they  could  not  hear.  For  their  refusal  to  pay 
such  rates,  we  are  told  that  they  '  oftentimes  had  their 
bodies  seized  upon,  and  thrown  into  the  common  jail,  as 
malefactors,  and  their  cattle,  swine,  horses,  household 
furniture,  and  implements  of  husbandry  forcibly  dis- 
trained from  them,  and  shamefully  sold,  many  times  at 
not  one-quarter  part  of  the  first  value.'  And  it  is  added 
•  that  the  heavy  pressures  and  afflictions  occasioned  by 
these  distraints,  imprisonments,  and  tlie  losses  consequent 
thereupon,  made  many  of  the  Baptists  bend,  almost 
ruined  some  of  our  people,  and  disheartened  others  to 
such  a  degree  that  they  removed,  with  the  remaining 
effects  they  had  left,  out  of  the  province.' " ' 

1  Persons  who  had  been  baptized  in  infancy,  and  were  not  scandalous 
in  life,  were  admitted  to  membership,  though  there  was  no  proof  of  per- 
sonal religion.  If  one  of  the  parents  of  a  child  belonged  to  the  church, 
the  child  might  be  baptized,  and  ultimately  become  a  member.  Thus 
infant  baptism  produced  church  degeneration. 

'Dr.  Hovey's  Life  and  Times  of  Isaac  Backus,  p.  167. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  529 

In  the  year  172S  an  act  was  passed  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts,  exempting  Baptists  from  the  tax  ; 
but  as  it  relieved  the  -persons  only,  but  left  the  property 
still  liable,  it  was  of  little  service.  Other  acts  were  after- 
ward passed,  to  be  in  force  for  short  periods,  professedly 
to  give  relief;  but  they  were  clogged  with  so  many  diffi- 
culties and  obnoxious  conditions,  that  the  Baptists  con- 
tinued to  suffer  in  many  places  and  for  many  years.  The 
following  letters  from  Christian  females  furnish  painful 
illustrations  of  these  statements. 

Elizabeth  Backus,  mother  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Backus, 
writes  thus  to  her  son  : 

"  Norwich,  Nov.  4,  1752. 
"  AIy  Dear  Son  :  I  have  heard  something  of  the  trials 
amongst  you  of  late,  and  I  was  grieved,  till  I  had  strength 
to  give  up  the  case  to  God  and  leave  my  burden  there. 
And  now  I  would  tell  you  something  of  our  trials.  Your 
brother  Samuel  lay  in  prison  twenty  days.  October  15th 
the  collectors  came  to  our  house,  and  took  me  away  to 
prison  about  nine  o'clock,  in  a  dark,  rainy  night. 
Brothers  Hill  and  Sabins  were  brought  there  the  next 
night.  We  lay  in  prison  thirteen  days,  and  were  then 
set  at  liberty,  by  what  means  I  know  not.  Whilst  I 
was  there  a  great  many  people  came  to  see  me,  and  some 
said  one  thing  and  some  said  another.  Oh,  the  innumer- 
able snares  and  temptations  that  beset  me !  more  than  I 
ever  tliought  of  before.  But  oh,  the  condescension  of 
Heaven  !  though  I  was  bound  when  I  was  cast  into  this 
furnace,  yet  I  was  loosed  and  found  Jesus  in  the  midst  ol 
a  furnace  with  me.  Oh,  then  I  could  give  up  my  name, 
estate,  family,  life  and  breath,  freely  to  God.  Now  the 
prison  looked  like  a  palace  to  me.  I  could  bless  God  foi 
45 


530  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

all  the  laughs  and  scoffs  made  at  me.  Oh,  the  love  that 
flowed  out  to  all  mankind  !  then  I  could  forgive  as  I 
would  desire  to  be  forgiven,  and  love  my  neighbor  as  my- 
self. Deacon  Griswold  was  put  in  prison  the  Sth  of  Oc- 
tober ;  and  yesterday  old  Brother  Grover ;  and  they  are 
in  pursuit  of  others,  all  which  calls  for  humiliation.  The 
church  has  appointed  the  13th  of  November  to  be  spent 
in  prayer  and  fasting  on  that  account.  I  do  remember 
my  love  to  you  and  your  wife,  and  the  dear  children  of 
God  with  you,  begging  your  prayers  for  us  in  such  a  day 
of  trial.  We  are  all  in  tolerable  health,  expecting  to  see 
you.     These  from  your  loving  mother, 

"  Elizabeth  Backus." 

"  Mr.  Backus  :  I  understand  that  you  are  collecting 
materials  for  a  Baptist  History,  in  which  you  propose  to 
let  the  public  know  how  the  Baptists  have  been  op- 
pressed in  Massachusetts  Bay.  This  is  to  let  you  know 
that  in  the  year  1768,  in  a  very  cold  night  in  winter, 
about  nine  or  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  carried  by  the  collector  in  the  town  where 
I  live  from  my  family,  consisting  of  three  small  children, 
in  order  to  be  put  into  jail.  It  being  a  severe  cold  night, 
I  concluded  by  advice,  while  I  was  detained  at  a  tavern 
in  the  way  to  jail  some  hours,  to  pay  the  sum  of  4-8 
L.  M.  [/.  e.  legal  money],  for  which  I  was  made  a  pris- 
oner, it  being  for  the  ministerial  rate.  The  reason  why 
I  refused  paying  it  before  was  because  I  was  a  Baptist, 
and  belonged  to  the  Baptist  Society,  in  Haverhill,  and 
had  earned  in  a  certificate  to  the  assessors,  as  I  suppose, 
according  to  law.  Thus  they  dealt  with  a  poor  widow- 
woman  in  Bradford,  the  relict  of  Solomon  Kimball,  late 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  531 

of  the  said  town  ;  at  whose  house  the  Rev.  Hezekiah 
Smith  was  shamefully  treated  by  many  of  the  people  in 
Bradford,  who  came  headed  by  the  sheriff',  Amos  MuUi- 
ken,  at  a  time  when  Mr.  Smith  was  to  preach  a  sermon 
in  our  house,  at  the  request  of  my  husband,  and  warmly 
contended  with  him,  and  threatened  him  if  he  did  preach. 
Mr.  Smith  went  to  begin  service  by  singing,  notwith- 
standing the  noise,  clamor,  and  threats  of  the  people. 
But  one  of  their  number  snatched  the  chair  behind  which 
Mr.  Smith  stood  from  before  him.  Upon  which  my 
husband  desired  Mr.  Smith  to  tarry  a  little  till  he  had 
quelled  the  tumult ;  but  all  his  endeavors  to  silence  them 
were  in  vain.  Upon  which  my  husband  desired  Mr. 
Smith  to  begin  public  service  ;  which  accordingly  he  did, 
and  went  through  then  without  further  molestation. 

"Martha  Kimball. 
"Bradford,  Sept.  2,  1774. 

"  N.  B.  The  above  I  can  attest  to.  It  may  be  ob- 
served that  the  tavern  whither  they  took  me  is  about  two 
miles  from  my  house.  After  I  had  paid  what  they  de- 
manded, then  I  had  to  return  to  my  poor  fatherless  chil- 
dren, through  the  snow  on  foot,  in  the  dead  of  the  night, 
exposed  to  the  severity  of  the  cold."  ^ 

In  the  other  New  England  states,  Rhode  Island  ex- 
cepted, the  Baptists  met  with  similar  treatment.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Marshall,  for  instance,  who  labored  in  Con- 
necticut, was  put  in  the  stocks  for  preaching  in  another 
minister's  parish,  and  afterward  sent  to  jail  for  '•^preach- 
ing the  gospel  contrary  to  law."  The  tongue  of  slander 
was  busy  against  them,  and  they  were  "  everywhere 
1  Hovey,  pp.  28,  184. 


533  BAPTIST  HISTOnr. 

spoken  against."  Unrighteously  taxed,  unlawfully  im- 
prisoned,  the  butts  of  all  men's  ridicule,  they  quailed  not, 
nor  did  they  slacken  in  zeal  or  effort ;  and  God  wonder- 
fully blessed  them. 

Their  success  was  great  also  in  Virginia.  After  the 
revival  under  Whitefield  and  his  associates,  many  Baptist 
ministers  itinerated  in  that  state,  and  so  preached  that 
multitudes  believed  and  were  converted.  Persecution 
soon  broke  out.  Several  of  the  ministers  were  arrested. 
"  May  it  please  your  worship,"  said  the  lawyer,  *'  these 
men  are  great  disturbers  of  the  peace  ;  they  cannot  meet 
a  man  on  the  road  but  they  ram  a  text  of  Scripture  down 
his  throat."  As  they  would  not  promise  to  desist  from 
preaching,  they  were  committed  to  prison,  to  which  they 
went  cheerfully,  singing  as  they  walked  through  the 
street  Dr.  Watts'  hymn,  ''  Broad  is  the  road  that  leads  to 
death."  This  was  in  the  county  of  Spottsylvania,  in  the 
year  176S.  The  same  course  was  pursued  by  the  magis- 
trates in  other  parts  of  the  state.  About  thirty  min- 
isters, besides  many  exhorters  and  others  who  manifested 
Christian  earnestness  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  were  im- 
prisoned, some  of  them  repeatedly.' 

"  The  magistrates,  in  all  parts  of  the  Commonwealth, 
impelled  and  directed  by  the  State  clerg}'  and  their  more 
zealous  friends,  commenced  a  relentless  annc  ,'ance  of  the 
people  and  a  heartless  persecution  of  the  ministers  of 
our  churches.  Attempts  were  made  to  set  aside  the 
Toleration  Act,  and  old  and  obsolete  laws  were  hunted 
up,  and  essays  were  made  to  enforce  their  provisions. 
Assessments  were  prosecuted  with  new  vigilance ;  fines 
imposed  and  collected ;  meetings  were  disturbed  and 
'  Benedict's  History  of  the  Baptists,  p.  654. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  533 

violently  dispersed ;  and  pastors  and  other  ministers 
were  arrested,  dragged  before  the  courts,  browbeaten, 
and  ignominiously  punished.  All  this,  and  more,  is  ac- 
knowledged by  the  ministers  and  historians  of  the  '  State 
Cliurch'  themselves.  Dr.  Hawks,  for  example,  says, 
'  No  Dissenters  in  Virginia  experienced  for  a  time  harsher 
treatment  than  did  the  Baptists.  They  were  beaten  and 
imprisoned,  and  cruelty  taxed  its  ingenuity  to  devise  new 
modes  of  punishment  and  annoyance.  The  usual  con- 
sequences followed.  Persecution  made  friends  for  its 
victims;  and  the  men  who  were  not  permitted  to  speak 
in  public  found  willing  auditors  in  the  sympathizing 
crowds  who  gathered  round  the  prisons  to  hear  them 
preach  from  the  grated  windows.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  this  very  opposition  imparted  strength  in  another 
mode,  inasmuch  as  it  at  least  furnished  the  Baptists  with 
a  common  ground  on  which  to  make  resistance.' "  ^ 

"  In  all  the  prisons  where  our  brethren  were  incar- 
cerated, they  preached  daily  from  the  windows  to  the 
crowds  who  there  assembled  to  hear  them."  ^ 

Irritated  beyond  measure  at  this  boldness,  their  enemies 
resorted  to  various  expedients  to  check  it.  "  In  some 
cases,"  says  Benedict,  "  drums  were  beaten  in  the  time  of 
8er\ice ;  high  enclosures  were  erected  before  the  prison 
windows ;  matches  and  other  suffocating  materials  were 
burnt  outside  the  prison  doors."  But  all  was  in  vain. 
The  servants  of  God  would  preach,  and  the  people  were 
equally  determined  to  hear.  Converts  were  multiplied  ; 
new  churches  sprang  up  all  over  the  state  :  "  so  mightily 
giew  the  word  of  God,  and  prevailed." 

'  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia,  p.  121. 
'  Howell's  Early  Baptists  of  Virginia,  p.  39. 
45* 


534  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

The  persecuted  have  sometimes  become  persecutors 
when  the  power  has  come  into  their  own  hands.  In  the 
fourth  century  the  Orthodox  banished  the  Arians  ;  but 
when  an  Arian  emperor  occupied  the  throne  the  Arians 
banished  the  Orthodox.  There  is  no  proof,  however,  of 
the  adoption  of  a  persecuting  policy  by  Baptists.  John 
Hohnes  was  a  Baptist  magistrate  in  Philadelphia  in  1691, 
when  the  "  Keithian  Baptists"  appeared  in  that  city,  and 
created  trouble  among  the  Qiiakers,  some  of  whom  were 
desirous  of  suppressing  them  by  force.  Mr.  Holmes  re- 
fused to  act,  observing  "  that  it  was  a  religious  dispute, 
and  therefore  not  fit  for  a  civil  court."  ^  Thirty  years 
afterward  a  bill  was  brought  into  the  House  of  Assembly 
of  New  Jersey,  "  to  punish  such  as  denied  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  the  divinity  of  Christ,"  etc.  The  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Jenkins,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Cape 
May,  who  was  a  member  of  the  house,  opposed  the  bill 
with  great  earnestness  and  warmth.  "  I  believe  the  doc- 
ti^ines  in  question,"  he  said,  "  as  firmly  as  the  promoters 
of  that  ill-designed  bill  ;  but  will  never  consent  to  oppose 
the  opposers  with  law,  or  with  any  other  weapon  save 
that  of  argument."  His  sturdy  resistance  prevailed,  and 
the  bill  was  quashed.'^ 

The  great  increase  of  our  denomination  took  place 
after  the  year  1740.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  Whitefield 
landed  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  commenced  that 
cour-ie  of  evangelical  labor  in  the  United  States  which 
was  productive,  under  the  divine  blessing,  of  such  remark- 
able results.  The  revival  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts, 
in   17345  ^i^<J  already  prepared  the  minds  of  the  people, 

•  Morgan  Edwards'  History  of  the  Baptists  of  Pennsyhania,  p.  56. 
'  Edwards'  His  toy  of  the  Baptists  of  Ne^o  Jersey,  p.  41. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  535 

in  some  measure,  for  a  general  outpouring  of  the  Spirit. 
It  was  graciously  vouchsafed,  and  so  glorious  was  the 
manifestation  that  "  in  the  term  of  two  or  three  years 
thirty  or  forty  thousand  souls  were  born  into  the  family 
of  heaven  in  New  England." '  Some  of  the  converts 
joined  the  existing  churches,  but  a  large  number  formed 
separate  churches,  requiring  satisfactory  evidence  that  the 
candidates  for  communion  were  the  subjects  of  regenera- 
tion. This  New  Testament  rule  had  been  departed  from 
by  the  "  Standing  Order,"  and  the  JVew  Lights.,  as  they 
were  called,  determined  to  reinstate  primitive  principles 
in  their  proper  place.  The  natural  effect  was  that  many 
of  them  became  Baptists. 

The  new  converts  were  "  fervent  in  spirit."  They 
thirsted  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  Unexampled  efforts 
were  immediately  employed  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
Some  went  from  house  to  house  in  their  respective  neigh- 
borhoods,"  warning  every  man  and  teaching  every  man," 
and  exhorting  all  to  turn  to  the  Lord.  Pious  ministers 
were  stirred  up  to  unusual  exertion,  and  old  Christians 
renewed  their  youth.  "  The  Lord  gave  the  word  ;  great 
was  the  company  of  them  that  published  it."  They  were 
not  all  suitably  qualified  for  the  work,  as  we  should  now 
judge  ;  mistakes  were  committed,  and  measures  of  doubt- 
ful propriety  adopted,  in  some  places  ;  but  such  things 
might  be  expected  in  times  of  great  spiritual  excitement. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  laborers  were  generally  men 
of  God,  "  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith."  They 
had  deep  convictions  of  the  evil  of  sin  and  the  peril  of  a 
rebellious  state.  The  love  of  God  in  Christ  overpowered 
their  souls.  Their  views  of  the  solemn  realities  of  an* 
1  Trumbull's  History  of  Cotinediait,  quoted  by  Dr.-Hovey,  p.  35. 


53^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

other  wc rid  were  vivid  and  heart-affecting.  They  "set 
the  Lord  alw^ays  before"  them,  and  walked  as  in  the  sight 
of  the  judgment-seat.  Their  earnest  appeals  made  the 
stout-hearted  tremble,  awed  many  a  reprobate  into  silence, 
and  wrung  tears  from  daring  and  hardened  offenders. 
Tens  of  thousands  bowed  before  the  majesty  of  truth. 

Some  of  the  most  powerful  preachers  emigrated  to 
other  states,  and  wherever  they  went  the  floods  of  blessing 
poured  over  the  land.  Virginia  was  remarkably  indebted 
to  their  labors.  In  176S  there  were  but  ten  Baptist 
churches  in  that  state  ;  in  1790  there  were  two  hundred 
and  ten.  The  Carolinas  and  other  states  in  the  South 
were  also  visited  by  the  New  Lights,  and  marvelous  ef- 
fects followed. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  note  the  dates  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  first  churches  in  the  several  states. 

Delaware. — This  state  originally  formed  part  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  did  not  acquire  an  independent  existence  till 
1776.  The  first  Baptist  church  in  the  district  which  is 
now  the  state  of  Delaware  was  formed  at  Welsh  Tract., 
in  1703.  Sixteen  persons,  all  Baptists,  emigrated  in  a 
body  from  Wales  in  1701.  They  settled  first  at  Penne- 
pek,  and  in  the  year  above  mentioned  removed  to  Welsh 
Tract.  Thomas  Griffith,  one  of  the  original  emigi"ants, 
became  pastor  of  the  church.     He  died  in  1725. 

Connecticut. — Baptist  principles  were  introduced  into 
this  state  from  Rhode  Island.  Mr.  Valentine  Wightman 
planted  a  church  at  Groton  in  1705.  Other  ministers  fol- 
lowed, and  wlien  the  "New  Light  Stir"  took  place,  the 
cause  advanced  encouragingly,  in  spite  of  the  persecutions 
urged  by  the  "Standing  Order." 

Virginia. — There  were  Baptists  in  this  state  at  the 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  537 

commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1714, 
Robert  Nordin,  an  ordained  minister,  arrived  from  Eng- 
land, and  gathered  a  church  at  Burleigh^  Isle  of  Wight 
county.  Other  Baptists  entered  from  Maryland.  About 
the  middle  of  the  century  Shubael  Stearns  and  other  New 
England  itinerants  traversed  a  considerable  part  of  the 
state,  and  kindled  a  flame  that  will  not  be  quenched. 

New  York. — Some  of  the  persecuted  Baptists  sought 
refuge  among  the  Dutch  settlers  in  New  York  during  the 
seventeenth  century,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  church 
was  formed.  William  Wickenden,  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  preached  frequently  in  New  York,  and  had  the 
honor  to  be  imprisoned  four  months  for  it.  Valentine 
Wightman  preached  two  years  in  the  city,  and  baptized 
a  number  of  converts.  This  was  in  1714.  Nicholas 
Eyres,  one  of  the  baptized,  became  their  minister.  They 
erected  a  place  of  worship  on  Golden  Hill  in  1728.  The 
exact  date  of  the  formation  of  the  church  is  not  known. 
It  was  probably  soon  after  the  baptism. 

North  Carolina. — There  were  scattered  Baptists  in 
this  state  from  the  latter  end  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  first  church  was  constituted  about  1727,  by  Paul 
Palmer,  at  Perqtiimans.  But  to  the  labors  of  Shubael 
Stearns  and  his  companions,  from  the  year  1754,  must  be 
attributed,  under  God,  the  extensive  spread  of  Baptist 
views  and  practices,  and  the  remarkable  revival  of  reli- 
gion by  which  the  eighteenth  century  was  distinguished. 

Maryland. — At    CJiestnut   Ridge.,  was   founded    in 
1742,  the  first  Baptist  church  in  this  state.     It  originated 
with  Henry  Sator,  an  Englishman  who  emigrated  in  1709. 
He  invited  Baptist  ministers  to  preach  in  his  house.     Glon 
versions  followed,  and  the  church  was  formed. 


538  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

New  Hampshire. — Mrs.  Scammon,  a  Christian 
woman,  who  removed  from  Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  into 
New  Hampshire  in  1720,  was  the  means  of  introducing 
the  Baptist  denomination  into  this  state,  though  the  first 
church  was  not  estabhshed  till  after  her  death.  By  con- 
versation with  her  neighbors  she  endeavored  to  lead  them 
to  Christ ;  and  when  they  became  Christians  she  distributed 
among  them  copies  of  Norcott  on  Baptism  (first  pub- 
lished in  England,  about  the  year  1660,  and  extensively 
circulated),  with  a  view  to  guide  them  into  the  paths  of 
New  Testament  observances.  A  church  was  formed  at 
Newtoivn  in  1755. 

Maine. — The  formation  of  the  church  at  Kittery  in 
1682  has  been  mentioned.  It  did  not  live  long.  Bene- 
dict says :  "  As  the  result  of  a  long-cherished  and  well- 
organized  intolerance,  venting  itself  in  vehement  and 
impassioned  persecution,  these  humble  Christians  became 
disheartened  and  overcome.  In  less  than  one  year  from 
its  organization  the  church  was  dissolved  and  the  mem- 
bers scattered  'like  sheep  upon  the  mountains!'"^  In 
1764,  eighty-one  years  after  the  dissolution  of  the  church 
at  Kittery,  another  church  was  formed  at  Berwick^ 
Joshua  Emery  being  the  first  pastor.  About  twenty 
years  after,  Isaac  Case,  another  devoted  man,  itinerated 
through  the  state,  and  was  greatly  blessed. 

Vermont. — The  first  settlers  in  this  state  were  mostly 
Congregationalists.  A  number  of  them  embraced  Baptist 
sentiments,  and  many  Baptist  ministers  removed  into  the 
state  from  time  to  time,  by  whose  unwearied  efforts  the 
cause  of  truth  and  holiness  was  furthered.  The  first 
church  was  formed  at  Shaftesbury  in  1768. 
'^History,  p,  507. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  539 

Georgia. — There  were  many  Baptists  in  various  parts 
of  Georgia  for  many  years  before  any  organization  took 
place.  Georgia  was  chiefly  indebted  to  the  New  Lights, 
Daniel  Marshall  and  others,  who  were  abundant  in  labors 
and  astonishingly  successful.  The  first  church  was  formed 
at  Kiokee  in  1772. 

Tennessee. — Two  churches  were  formed  in  Eastern 
Tennessee  about  the  year  1765,  but  they  were  scattered 
in  the  Indian  war  in  1774.  The  first  permanent  church 
was  established  at  Btiffalo  Ridge  in  1780. 

Kentucky. — The  early  settlers  in  Kentucky  encoun- 
tered great  diflSculties  and  dangers  ;  pioneering  was  hard 
work  in  a  country  without  roads,  and  where  hostile  at- 
tacks from  Indians  might  be  expected  any  day  and  any 
hour.  But  they  persevered  and  succeeded.  Among  them 
were  many  Baptists  from  Virginia.  In  1781  the  first 
church  was  organized  at  Nolinn.  That  church  "is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  first  Protestant  religious  society 
organized  in  the  Great  West."  ^ 

»  The  following  notices  refer  to  periods  not  embraced  in  this  history  ; 
Arkansas. — 1800  ?     Fouche  a  Thomas. 
Mississippi. — 1800?    Natchez. 
Indiana.— 1802.     On  the  Whitewater. 
Missouri. — 1804.    Tyawappity. 
Alabama. — 1810.     Clarke  co. 
Louisiana. — 1812.    Calvary. 
Michigan. — 1822.     Pontiac 
Iowa. — 1836.     Big  Creek. 
Texas.— 1836  ? 

Wisconsin.— 1837.     Rochester. 
California. — 1847.     San  Francisco. 
Minnesota. — 1849.     St.  Paul. 
Oregon. — 1846.     Astoria. 


540  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Ohio. — A  company  of  settlers  located  themselves  in 
the  summer  of  17S9  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami 
river.  Some  of  them  were  Baptists,  who  immediately 
commenced  holding  religious  meetings,  each  taking  his 
turn,  as  he  was  able,  in  carrying  on  the  service.  The 
Rev.  S.  Gano,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  visited  the 
^settlement  in  1790,  and  formed  the  Miami  church. 

Illinois. — "The  Baptists,"  says  J.  M.  Peck,  D.  D., 
"  were  the  first  Protestants  to  enter  this  region."  They  held 
meetings  and  edified  one  another  as  well  as  they  could 
for  some  time.  The  Rev.  James  Smith,  a  Kentucky 
Baptist  minister,  visited  the  Illinois  settlements  three 
times,  and  labored  with  great  acceptance  among  the 
people.  He  was  once  captured  by  the  Indians,  who  did 
not  release  him  till  his  brethren  had  raised  one  hundred 
and  seventy  dollars  (a  large  sum  in  those  times)  for 
his  ransom.  The  first  church  was  formed  at  New  Design 
in  1796. 

As  soon  as  the  Baptist  churches  became  sufficiently 
numerous,  they  proceeded  to  combine  in  Associations, 
which  arrangement  has  proved  eminently  conducive  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  body.  Carefully  guarding  against 
the  assumption  of  ecclesiastical  power,  and  avoiding  all 
interference  with  the  affairs  of  individual  churches,  the 
ministers  and  delegates  who  assembled  from  time  to  time 
exercised  a  brotherly  supervision  over  the  Baptist  cause, 
and  often  "devised  liberal  things"  on  its  behalf.  Per- 
sonal edification  was  promoted  by  the  religious  services  ; 
Christian  friendship  was  renewed  and  extended  ;  import- 
ant questions  of  doctrine  and  practice  were  discussed, 
and  advice  given  in  difficult  cases ;  weak  and  destitute 
churches  were  assisted ;  and  plans  for  the  wider  diffusion 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  54I 

of  gospel  truth  were  originated.  Almost  all  our  denomi- 
national enterprises  may  be  referred  to  the  influence  of 
these  associational  gatherings. 

The  Philadelphia  Association  was  the  first  of  the  kind. 
It  was  formed  in  the  year  1707.  "This  Association," 
says  Dr.  Samuel  Jones,  in  his  Century  Sermon^  "origi- 
nated in  what  they  called  General,  and  sometimes  Yearly 
meetings.  These  meetings  were  instituted  as  early  as 
16SS,  and  met  alternately  in  May  and  September,  at 
Lower  Dublin,  Philadelphia,  Salem,  Cohansey,  Chester, 
and  Burlington,  at  which  places  there  were  members, 
though  no  church  or  churches  were  constituted,  except 
Lower  Dublin  and  Cohansey.  At  these  meetings  their 
labors  were  chiefly  confined  to  the  ministry  of  the  word 
and  the  administration  of  gospel  ordinances.  But  in  the 
year  1707  they  seemed  to  have  taken  more  properly  the 
form  of  an  Association  ;  for  then  they  had  delegates  from 
several  churches,  and  attended  to  their  general  concerns. 
We  therefore  date  our  beginning  as  an  Association  from 
that  time,  though  we  might,  with  but  little  impropriety, 
extend  it  back  some  years.  They  were  at  this  time  but 
a  feeble  band,  though  a  band  of  faithful  brothers,  con- 
sisting of  but  five  churches,  viz.,  those  of  Lower  Dublin, 
Piscataway,  Middletown,  Cohansey,  and  Welsh  Tract. 
There  were  at  that  time  but  these  five  in  North  America, 
except  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island."  ^ 

This  Association  is  still  a  large  and  flourishing  body, 
notwithstanding  the  numerous  offshoots  which  it  has 
given  out.  In  October,  i868,  it  was  composed  of  66 
churches  and  a  membership  of  14,474.  There  are  seven- 
teen other  Associations  in  the  state. 

J  Benedict's  Hist<»y,  p.  605. 


542  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

The  list  below  gives  the  name  of  the  first  Asso- 
ciation formed  in  each  state  within  this  period,  with  the 
date  of  the  formation  : 

1751.  Charleston  Association,  S.  Carolina. 

1758.  Sandy  Creek  Association,  N.  Carolina. 

1766.  Ketockton  Association,  Virginia. 

1767.  Warren  Association,  Rhode  Island. 
1772.  Stonington  Association,  Connecticut 
1780.  Shaftesbury  Association,  Vermont 
1782.  Salisbury  Association,  Maryland. 

1784.  Georgia  Association. 

1785.  New  Hampshire  Association. 

1785.  Elkhorn,  S.  Kentucky,  and  Salem  Associations,  Kentucky. 

1786.  Holston  Association,  Tennessee. 
1791.  New  York  Association. 

1797.  Miami  Association,  Ohio.^ 

A  few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Philadelphia 
Association,  a  correspondence  was  opened  with  the  Bap- 

^  The  following  Associations  were  formed  subsequent  to  the  period 
embraced  in  this  history  : 

1S07.  Illinois  Association. 

1807.  Mississippi  Association. 

1809.  Whitewater  Association,  Indiana. 

1814.  Flint  River  Association,  Alabama. 

1816.  Bethel  Association,  Missouri. 

1821.  Louisiana  Association. 

1827.  Michigan  Association. 

1829.  Spring  River  Association,  Arkansas. 

1838.  Wisconsin  Association. 

1838.  Desmoines  Association,  Iowa. 

1840.  Union  Association,  Texas. 

1842.  Florida  Association. 

1848.  Willamette,  Oregon. 

185 1.  San  Francisco  Association,  California. 

1856.  Mound  City  Association,  Kansas. 

1858.  Nebraska  Association,  Nebraska. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  543 

tist  ministers  of  London.  In  a  letter  dated  August  12, 
1714,  Abel  Morgan  says,  "We  are  now  nine  churches. 
....  In  these  churches  there  are  about  five  hundred  mem- 
bers, but  who  are  greatly  scattered  on  this  main  land.  Our 
ministers  are  necessitated  to  labor  with  their  hands.  We 
hope,  if  it  please  God  to  supply  us  with  more  help,  we 
shall  be  more  churches  in  a  little  time.  Most  churches 
administer  the  sacrament  once  a  month.  These  minis- 
ters are  all  sound  in  the  faith,  and  we  practice  most  things 
like  the  British  churches."  Another  letter,  written  the 
following  year,  contained  a  request  for  assistance  in 
books,  etc.,  "for  the  preservation  and  further  promoting 
of  the  truth  in  those  parts."  Two  gentlemen  responded 
to  the  request.  "  Mr.  Thomas  Hollis  and  Mr.  John 
Taylor  gave  a  supply  of  books  ;  Mr.  Hollis  sent  twelve 
copies  of  Mr,  Burkitt's  Annotations  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment., directing  that  each  minister  in  those  parts  might 
have  a  copy  ;  and  Mr.  John  Taylor  gave  twenty  pounds* 
worth  of  old  books,  and  several  copies  of  the  Baptist 
Catechism."  Acknowledging  the  gift,  the  church  at 
Philadelphia  wrote  as  follows  :  "  Your  letter  was  read  in 
our  meetings  in  town  and  country.  We  concluded  that 
the  books  might  be  disposed  of  as  intended  :  the  family- 
books  for  the  benefit  of  well-disposed  folks ;  the  Anno- 
tations  to  be  for  particular  qualified  persons.  The  other 
books  for  the  public  use,  for  our  leading  brethren  to  re- 
sort to,  are  lodged  here  in  the  city,  to  be  lent  and  returned 
again  ;  whereby  the  rising  generation  may  have  the  bene- 
fit of  them  as  well  as  the  present.  The  contents  of  the 
letters  and  a  catalogue  of  the  books  are  recorded  in  our 
church-books,  to  prevent  all  mistakes."  An  acknowledg- 
ment was  also  forwarded  by  the  Association  at  its  annual 


544  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

meeting,  held  September,  1717.  An  extract  from  theif 
letter  will  show  the  nature  of  the  struggle  which  the  Bap- 
tists in  Pennsylvania  had  at  that  time  to  maintain :  "  We 
think  that  the  very  minds  of  the  people  in  common  here 
are  tainted  with  Arminianism,  Socinianism,  and  what 
not.  The  common  notion  of  religion  among  them  is  like 
a  leprous  house  :  it  is  not  to  be  mended  by  patching,  but 
must  be  pulled  down,  and  rebuilt  upon  the  right  founda- 
tion— the  covenant  of  grace.  This  we  labor  to  do,  and 
therefore  go  against  the  current  of  the  times,  that  others 
who  succeed  us  may  see  no  cause  to  lament  our  having 
gone  before  them  ;  and  this  we  will  still  do,  God  permit- 
ting." *  They  did  it,  and  that  right  well.  None  of  their 
successors  have  lamented  "  their  having  gone  before 
them." 

I  have  adverted  to  the  remarkable  increase  of  our  de- 
nomination in  the  latter  half  of  the  period  now  under 
notice.  It  was  the  fruit  of  a  series  of  revivals.  The 
ministers  of  those  times  were  not  satisfied  with  discharg- 
ing the  duties  of  their  pastorates.  They  undertook  long 
journeys,  preaching  as  they  went,  often  with  no  precon- 
ceived or  definite  plan,  but  traveling  and  laboring  as  they 
believed  themselves  to  be  directed  from  above.  Mighty 
efllects  followed,  "  the  Lord  working  with  them,  and  con- 
firming the  word,"  not  indeed  by  "  signs  following,"  such 
as  apostolic  churches  saw,  but  by  still  greater  displays  of 
power  and  mercy — by  the  conversion  of  souls.  These 
manifestations  were  not  confined  to  any  particular  part 
of  the  country  ;  they  wei'e  everywhere  enjoyed.  Rhode 
Island  experienced  a  rich  blessing  in  1774.  The  churches 
in  the  northern  parts  of  New  England  were  more  than 
1  Ivimey,  iii.  127,  131,  133. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  545 

doubled  in  number  in  the  ten  years  preceding  1792. 
Many  thousands  were  added  in  Virginia  and  other  South- 
ern states.  In  1791  there  was  an  extensive  revival  in 
Massachusetts,  which  reached  far  into  the  state  of  New 
York.  Two  hundred  and  ninety-three  members  were 
added  to  the  churches  of  Saratoga  and  Stillwater  in 
that  year.* 

We  need  not  be  surprised  at  some  oddities.  All  society 
was  in  a  ferment ;  strange  things  bubbled  up  to  the  sur- 
face now  and  then,  and  were  gazed  upon,  or  smiled  at, 
or  it  may  be  wept  over,  till  they  sank  into  oblivion.  If 
the  churches  composing  the  Sandy  Creek  Association  in 
North  Carolina  were  tenacious  of  the  kiss  of  charity,  the 
laying  on  of  hands  upon  members,  the  appointment  of 
elderesses,  and  such  things ;  if  a  large  Baptist  body  in 
Virginia  were  so  mistaken  as  to  choose,  in  the  year  1774, 
tliree  of  their  number,  and  designate  them  "  apostles," 
mvestmg  them  with  a  power  of  general  superintendence  ; 
and  if,  in  some  respects,  the  fervency  of  New  Light  feel- 
ings got  the  better  of  discretion  and  decorum,  we  must 
bear  in  mind  the  peculiarities  of  the  times.  After  a  long 
season  of  cold  and  drought,  the  Lord  "  poured  watei 
upon  him  that  was  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry 
ground  ;"  the  spiritual  vegetation  sprang  up  thick  and 
strong,  requiring  skillful  cultivators  ;  and  some  detriment 
was  experienced  for  want  of  care  in  pruning  and  training. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  these  wants  were  supplied, 
and  suitable  arrangements  constituted.  Surely  we  ought 
to  prefer  a  revival  of  religion,  though  dashed  with  some 
irregularities,  to  the  death-like  coldness  of  mere  orthodoxy 
and  form. 

'  Hovey,  p.  258. 
46* 


54^  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

The  year  1764  was  memorable  for  the  founding  of 
Rhode  Island  College,  now  called  "  Brown  University." 
This  institution  originated  with  the  Philadelphia  Asso- 
ciation. The  desirableness  of  the  measure  had  been 
long  felt.  The  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards  was  the  principal 
mover  in  the  undertaking,  and  his  views  were  zealously 
forwarded  by  the  Pennsylvania  Baptists.  They  chose 
Rhode  Island  as  the  seat  of  the  proposed  college,  be- 
cause it  was  supposed  that  the  preponderance  of  the  Bap- 
tists in  that  state  would  secure  the  bestowment  of  a  suit- 
able charter  of  incorporation.  The  Rev.  James  Manning, 
then  of  Philadelphia,  being  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  in  1763, 
on  his  way  to  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  called  a  meeting  of 
the  chief  Baptists,  and  laid  the  subject  before  them.  The 
result  was  that  a  plan  was  formed,  preliminary  measures 
taken,  and  application  immediately  made  to  the  legislature 
for  a  charter.  Some  difficulties  arose,  from  the  dishonest 
dealing  of  a  Presbyterian  minister  whose  assistance  had 
been  asked  in  the  preparation  of  the  charter,  and  who 
ictually  drew  it  up  in  such  a  manner  that  the  Presbyte- 
rians would  have  had  the  control.  His  design  was  de- 
feated, and  the  original  promoters  of  the  object  obtained 
their  wishes.  The  college  was  founded  on  the  following 
plan : 

"That  into  this  liberal  and  catholic  institution  shall 
never  be  admitted  any  religious  tests ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, all  the  members  thereof  shall  for  ever  enjoy  full, 
free,  absolute,  uninterrupted  liberty  of  conscience  ;  and 
that  the  places  of  professors,  tutors,  and  all  other  officers, 
the  president  alone  excepted,  shall  be  free  and  open  for 
all  denominations  of  Protestants  ;  and  that  youth  of  all 
religious  denominations  shall  and  may  be  freely  admitted 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  54) 

to  the  equal  advantages,  emoluments,  and  honors  of  the 
college  or  university,  and  shall  receive  a  like  fair,  gener- 
ous and  equal  treatment  during  their  residence  therein, 
they  conducting  themselves  peaceably  aud  conforming  to 
the  laws  and  statutes  thereof;  and  that  the  public  teach- 
ing shall  in  general  respect  the  sciences ;  and  that  the 
sectarian  diilerences  of  opinions  shall  not  make  any  part 
of  the  public  and  classical  instruction. 

"  The  government  of  the  college  is  vested  in  a  Board 
of  Fellows,  consisting  of  twelve  members,  of  whom  eight, 
including  the  president,  must  be  Baptists ;  and  a  Board 
of  Trustees,  consisting  of  thirty-six  members,  of  whom 
twenty-two  must  be  Baptists,  five  Friends  or  Qiiakers, 
four  Congregationalists,  and  five  Episcopalians.  These 
represent  the  different  denominations  existing  in  the  state 
when  the  charter  was  obtained,  '^he  instruction  and  im- 
mediate government  of  the  college  rests  in  the  president 
and  Board  of  Fellows."^ 

Mr.  Manning,  afterward  Dr.  Manning,  was  chosen 
president.  He  commenced  his  labors  at  Warren  in 
1766,  and  was  soon  encouraged  by  the  resort  of  students 
to  him  for  instruction.  The  erection  of  a  college  build- 
ing became  necessary,  and  Providence  was  chosen  as  the 
site,  that  city  having  offered  the  largest  contribution  to^ 
ward  the  object.  The  work  was  accomplished  in  1770. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  American  war  the  institution 
was  suspended  for  six  years,  and  the  building  was  used 
for  barrack  and  hospital  purposes  by  the  army.  Dr. 
Manning  died  in  1791,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Maxcy, 
who  resigned  his  office  in  1802,  when  Dr.  Messer  became 
president.  He  was  followed  in  1826  by  Dr.  Way  land, 
'  Hovey,  p.  151, 


54^  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

who  resigned,  "  full  of  honors,"  in  1856.  Thfi  University 
was  next  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Barnas  Sears,  who 
resigned  in  1867,  in  order  to  superintend  educational 
arrangements  i»  the  South,  founded  by  the  munificent 
liberality  of  George  Peabody,  Esq.  Dr.  Alexis  Caswell 
is  now  the  president. 

This  venerable  institution  is  now  a  hundred  years  old. 
About  two  thousand  students  have  graduated  there,  up- 
ward of  five  hundred  of  whom  have  become  ministers  of 
the  gospel.^ 

Valuable  aid  was  received  from  England,  both  in  money 
and  books,  chiefly  on  the  application  of  Morgan  Edwards, 
who  went  to  that  country  for  the  purpose,  and  was  very 
successful,  "  considering,"  as  he  said,  "  how  angry  the 
mother  country  then  was  with  the  colonies  for  opposing 
the  Stamp  Act." 

Rhode  Island  College  was  named  "  Brown  University" 
in  1804,  in  honor  of  Nicholas  Brown,  Esq.,  to  whose 
liberality  it  has  been  largely  indebte'd.  In  the  year  above 
mentioned  he  founded  a  Professorship  in  Rhetoric  and 
Belles  Lettres.  He  afterward  erected  "  Hope  Hall,"  a 
spacious  structure,  designed  to  aflbrd  the  increased  ac- 
commodation required  for  the  students,  which  cost  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  "Manning  Hall,"  more  recently  built 
by  the  same  generous  benefactor,  has  the  library  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  the  upper  part  was  used  for  a  chapel. 
The  library  contains  between  thirty  and  forty  thousand 
volumes. 

The  importance  of  providing  means  of  instruction  for 
those  who  intended  to  enter  the  ministry  was  early  felt 

'  The  History  of  Brown  University,  by  R.  A.  Guild,  the  librarian,  pub- 
lished in  1867,  is  a  very  interesting  volume. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  <;49 

by  the  Baptists  of  America.  A  considerable  sum  was 
raised  for  the  assistance  of  such  persons  by  the  Philadel- 
phia Association.  Private  seminaries  of  education  were 
established  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  which  were 
attended  by  many  who  afterward  became  ministers  of  the 
"gospel.  The  first  academy  of  the  kind  was  opened  by 
the  Rev.  Isaac  Eaton,  at  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  in  1756. 
Dr.  Samuel  Jones  established  another,  at  Lower  Dublin, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1766  ;  and  a  third  was  founded  at  Wren- 
tham,  Massachusetts,  in  1776,  by  Rev.  W.  Williams,  one 
of  the  first  graduates  of  Rhode  Island  College.  These 
were  useful  eflbrts.  They  were  the  germs  of  the  noble 
undertakings  which  have  characterized  the  present  age. 

The  introduction  of  Baptist  principles  and  practices 
into  that  part  of  the  American  continent  which  is  now 
walled  "British  North  America"  remains  to  be  recorded. 

In  1760,  Shubael  Dimock  and  family,  with  other  per- 
sons, emigrated  from  Connecticut  and  settled  in  Newport, 
Nova  Scotia.  The  vexations  they  had  endured  in  their 
own  country  in  being  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  "Standing  Order"  (Congregational)  led  to 
their  removal.  The  Rev.  John  Sutton,  a  Baptist  minis- 
ter, accompanied  them.  He  remained  about  a  year  in 
the  province,  baptized  Mr.  Dimock's  son  Daniel  and 
many  more,  and  then  returned.  The  Dimocks,  father 
and  son,  preached  the  gospel  in  the  district  where  they 
had  settled,  and  many  were  converted  and  baptized,  but 
no  church  was  formed. 

The  Rev.  Ebenezer  Moulton,  of  Massachusetts,  visited 
the  same  province  in  1761,  and  preached  chiefly  at  Yar- 
mouth. The  same  results  followed  as  at  Newport.  He 
also  returned. 


550  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

In  1763,  the  Rev.  Nathan  Mason  removed  from  Swan- 
sea, Massachusetts,  to  Sackville,  which  was  then  in  Nova 
Scotia,  but  is  now  in  New  Brunswick,  the  separation  into 
two  provinces  having  taken  place  in  1784.  A  church  had 
been  formed,  of  which  Mr.  Mason  was  chosen  pastor 
before  he  left.  The  whole  church  emigrated.  They  re- 
mained at  Sackville  about  eight  years,  during  which  time 
they  had  increased  to  sixty  members.  The  original  emi- 
grants then  returned,  and  the  church  died  out.  Another 
church  was  formed  in  the  same  place  in  1799. 

The  first  Baptist  church  formed  in  the  province  was  at 
Horton.  Ten  persons  were  constituted  a  church  Octo- 
ber 19,  1778,  and  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Pearson,  who  had 
been  preaching  there  some  time,  was  chosen  their  pastor. 
His  labors  were  so  successful  that  fifty-two  persons  were 
added  to  the  church  in  1779  and  17S0.  In  the  latter 
year  the  church  adopted  open  communion,  by  admitting 
Congregationalists  to  their  fellowship.  The  other  churches 
which  were  established  during  the  century  adopted  the 
same  policy. 

The  ministers  to  whose  labors  the  denomination  was 
chiefly  indebted  for  its  maintenance  and  extension  in 
Nova  Scotia  were,  Thomas  Handly  Chipman,  Joseph 
Dimock,  John  Burton,  James  Manning,  Theodore  Seth 
Harding,  Harris  Harding,  Edward  Manning,  Enoch 
Towner,  and  Joseph  Crandal. 

Thomas  Handly  Chipman  was  baptized  at  Horton  in 
1778.  He  became  pastor  of  the  church  at  Annapolis 
and  Upper  Granville,  and  died  Oct.  11,  1830. 

Joseph  Dimock  was  baptized  at  Horton  in  1787'  He 
was  ordained  at  Chester,  April  10,  1793,  and  was  pastor 
of  that  church  till  his  death,  June  29,  1846. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  55 1 

Theodore  Seth  Harding  was  baptized  in  i795»  or- 
dained at  Horton,  July  31,  1796,  and  died  there  June  8, 

1855. 

James  Manning  was  baptized  in  1796,  ordained  in 
Lower  Granville,  September  10,  1798,  and  died  May 
27,  1S18. 

John  Burton  was  ordained  in  1794,  and  became  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Halifax  in  1795.  He  died  February  6, 
1838. 

Edward  Manning  was  ordained  in  1795  over  the 
church  in  Cornwallis,  at  that  time  in  the  Congregational 
order.  He  was  baptized  in  1707,  and  remained  in  Corn- 
wallis (the  church  becoming  a  Baptist  church),  where  he 
died  January  I3,  185 1. 

Harris  Harding  began  to  preach  in  1784.  He  was 
baptized  in  1799,  and  died  at  Yarmouth,  where  he  had 
spent  fifty-seven  years  of  his  ministry,  March  7,  1854. 

Enoch  Towner  was  ordained  at  Digby  in  1799.  He 
died  January  12,  1851. 

Joseph  Crandal  was  ordained  at  Sackvillein  1799.  His 
labors  were  chiefly  confined  to  New  Brunswick.  He 
died  February  20,  1858. 

All  these  were  eminent  men  in  their  time.  Uneducated, 
in  the  common  meaning  of  the  word,  they  were  well 
versed  in  Bible  theology,  and  they  were  powerful  preach- 
ers. They  did  not  confine  themselves  to  the  neighbor- 
hoods in  which  they  lived,  but  itinerated  through  the 
province,  proclaiming  the  glad  tidings  wherever  they 
could  gain  access  to  the  people,  and  turning  man}'  "from 
the  power  of  Satan  unto  God."  Their  names  are  held 
in  high  honor  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Mixed  fellowship  prevailed  in  all  the  churches,  that  at 


552  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

Halifax  excepted,  which  was  the  only  Baptist  church, 
properly  so  called,  in  Nova  Scotia  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  But  all  the  pastors  were  Baptists, 
and  the  converts  were  invariably  baptized.  Strict  com- 
munion became  the  practice  of  the  churches  in  1809. 

The  first  association  in  British  North  America  was 
formed  in  Lower  Granville,  Nova  Scotia,  June  23,  1800. 
It  consisted  of  nine  churches,  viz. :  Annapolis  and  Upper 
Granville,  Digby,  Lower  Granville,  Horton,  Newport, 
Cornwallis,  Chester,  Yarmouth,  and  Sackville,  N.  B. 

A  Baptist  church  was  formed  in  the  township  of  Hal- 
lowell.  Prince  Edward  county,  Canada  West,  about  the 
year  1795.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Winn  was  pastor,  and 
probably  exercised  a  general  oversight  over  other  Baptist 
communities  which  were  subsequently  founded  in  that 
part  of  Canada.  The  Rev.  Reuben  Crandell  was  also 
an  active  and  successful  minister  in  the  same  province. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Biographical  Notices— Shubael  Stearns— Daniel  Marshall  —  Samuel 
Harris— John  Gano — Lewis  Lunsford — John  Waller— Isaac  Backus, 
A.  M. — Morgan  Edwards— D.  Thomas— E.  Kinnersley — Oliver  Hart 
— Drs.  Mercer,  Smith,  Manning,  Foster,  and  Stillman. 

I  WILL  bring  this  brief  account  of  the  American  Bap- 
tists to  a  close  by  furnishing  a  notice  of  the  more 
prominent  ministers  of  the  period. 

Shubael  Stearns  was  a  New  Light  preacher  in  Con- 
necticut. He  became  a  Baptist  1751.  Three  years  after- 
ward, under  the  influence  of  an  impression  that  he  was 
called  of  God  to  a  great  work  in  a  distant  land,  he  left 
New  England,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  his  friends, 
and,  after  a  short  residence  in  Virginia,  settled  at  Sandy 
Creek,  North  Carolina,  in  1755.  A  Baptist  church,  con- 
sisting of  sixteen  members,  was  immediately  formed,  and 
active  operations  were  commenced,  much  to  the  surprise 
of  the  neighborhood. 

"The  inhabitants  about  this  little  colony  of  Baptists," 
says  Benedict,  '"  although  brought  up  in  the  Christian 
religion,  were  grossly  ignorant  of  its  essential  principles. 
Having  the  form  of  godliness,  they  knew  nothing  of  its 
power.  Stearns  and  his  party,  of  course,  brought  strange 
things  to  their  ears.  To  be  born  again,  appeared  to  them 
47  553 


554  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

as  it  did  to  the  Jewish  doctor,  when  he  asked  if  he  must 
enter  the  second  time  into  his  mother's  womb  and  be 
born.  Having  always  supposed  that  religion  consisted  in 
nothing  more  than  the  practice  of  its  outward  duties,  they 
could  not  comprehend  how  it  should  be  necessary  to  feel 
conviction  and  conversion  ;  and  to  be  able  to  ascertain 
the  time  and  place  of  one's  conversion  was,  in  their  esti- 
mation, wonderful  indeed.  These  points  were  all  strenu- 
ously contended  for  by  the  new  preachers ;  but  their 
manner  of  preaching  was,  if  possiljle,  much  more  novel 
than  their  doctrines.  The  Separates  in  New  England 
had  acquired  a  very  warm  and  pathetic  address,  accom- 
panied by  strong  gestures  and  a  singular  tone  of  voice. 
Being  often  deeply  affected  themselves  when  preaching, 
correspondent  affections  were  felt  by  their  pious  hearers, 
which  were  frequently  expressed  by  tears,  trembling, 
screams,  and  exclamations  of  grief  and  joy.  All  these 
they  brought  with  them  into  their  new  habitation,  at 
which  the  people  were  greatly  astonished,  having  never 
seen  things  on  this  wise  before.  Many  mocked,  but,  the 
power  of  God  attending  them,  many  also  trembled.  In 
process  of  time,  some  of  the  inhabitants  became  converts, 
and  bowed  obedience  to  the  Redeemer's  sceptre.  These 
uniting  their  labors  with  the  others,  a  powerful  and  ex- 
tensive work  commenced,  and  Sandy  Creek  church  soon 
swelled  from  sixteen  to  six  hundred  and  six  members."^ 

Mr.  Stearns  was  pastor  of  the  church.  Daniel  Mar- 
shall, his  brother-in-law,  full  of  zeal  and  love,  went  from 
place  to  place  preaching  the  gospel,  and  soon  formed 
another  church,  thirty  miles  from  Sandy  Creek.  Many 
of  the  new  converts  became  preachers,  and  plunged  into 
1  History  of  the  Baptists,  ii.  38.     EA  1813. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  555 

the  work  without  any  human  preparation,  borne  away  by 
the  love  of  Christ  and  compassion  for  perishing  souls. 
County  after  county  received  the  truth  from  them,  and 
churches  were  rapidly  organized,  Mr.  Stearns  being 
<;encrally  engaged  on  such  occasions.  "  He  seems  to 
have  possessed  the  talent  of  arranging  the  materials 
when  collected,  and  well  understood  discipline  and 
church-government."  Some  of  the  preachers  traveled 
southward,  and  evangelized  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 
Others  went  northward,  into  Virginia.  "  Sandy  Creek," 
said  Morgan  Edwards,  "is  the  mother  of  all  the  Separate 
Baptists.  From  this  Zion  went  forth  the  word,  and 
great  was  the  company  of  them  that  published  it.  This 
church,  in  seventeen  years,  has  spread  her  branches  west- 
ward as  far  as  the  great  river  Mississippi ;  southward  as 
far  as  Georgia  ;  eastward  to  the  sea  and  Chesapeake  Bay ; 
and  northward  to  the  waters  of  the  Potomac :  it,  in 
seventeen  years,  is  become  mother,  grandmother,  and 
great-grandmother  to  forty-two  churches,  from  which 
sprang  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  ministers,  many  of 
which  are  ordained,  and  support  the  sacred  character  as 
well  as  any  set  of  clergy  in  America."  This  was  written 
in  1775. 

Thus  Shubael  Stearns'  impression  was  realized.  He 
was  really  called  to  do  a  great  work ;  and  he  toiled  on  to 
the  end,  becoming  at  length  a  patriarch  among  the 
churches.  It  is  said  of  him,  that  "  his  voice  was  musical 
and  strong,  which  he  managed  in  such  a  manner  as  one 
while  to  make  soft  impressions  in  the  heart,  and  fetch 
tears  from  the  eyes  ;  and  anon,  to  shake  the  very  nerves, 
and  throw  the  animal  system  into  tumults  and  perturba- 
tions ;" — that  "  in  his  eyes  was  something  very  penetra- 


556  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

ting,  which  seemed  to  have  a  meaning  in  every 
glance  ;" — and  that  "  many  stories  liave  been  told  re- 
specting the  enchantments  of  his  eyes  and  voice." 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  such  statements  as  these,  it 
is  indisputable  that  God  greatly  blessed  the  good  man's 
labors. 

Shubael  Stearns  died  at  Sandy  Creek,  November  20, 
1771. 

Daniel  Marshall  was  a  native  of  Windsor,  Connec- 
ticut. He  was  born  in  the  year  1706.  Converted  in 
his  twentieth  year,  he  joined  the  Presbyterians,  and  was 
a  useful  member  of  their  society  till  the  year  1744,  when 
the  preaching  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  who  was  at  that  time 
on  a  visit  to  the  New  England  states,  so  powerfully 
affected  him  and  many  more  that  they  literally  "left  all," 
and  went  forth  to  labor  for  God,  whithersoever  they 
might  be  guided.  "  Firmly  believing,"  says  his  son, 
"  in  the  near  approach  of  the  latter-day  glory,  when  the 
Jews,  with  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles,  shall  hail  their 
Redeemer  and  bow  to  his  gentle  sceptre,  a  number  of 
worthy  characters  ran  to  and  fro  through  the  Eastern 
states,  warmly  exhorting  to  the  prompt  adoption  of  every 
measure  tending  to  hasten  that  blissful  period.  Others 
sold,  gave  away,  or  left  their  possessions,  as  the  powerful 
impulse  of  the  moment  determined,  and,  without  scrip  or 
purse,  rushed  up  to  the  head  of  the  Susquehanna  to 
convert  the  heathens,  and  settled  in  a  town  called  Onna- 
quaggy,  among  the  Mohawk  Indians.  One,  and  not  the 
least  sanguine,  of  these  pious  missionaries,  was'  my 
venerable  father.  Great  must  have  been  his  faith,  great 
his  zeal,  when,  without  the  least  prospect  of  a  temporal 
reward,  with  a  much-beloved  wife  and  three  children,  he 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  557 

exchanged  his  commodious  buildings  for  a  miserable 
hut ;  his  fruitful  and  loaded  orchards  for  barren  deserts  ; 
the  luxuries  of  a  well-furnished  table  for  coarse  and 
scanty  fare  ;  and  numerous  civil  friends  for  rude  savages  !"^ 
He  remained  among  the  Indians  about  eighteen  months, 
and  was  beginning  to  reap  the  fruit  of  his  endeavors — 
several  jf  them  being  converted — when,  on  the  breaking 
out  of  a  war  among  their  tribes,  he  removed  into  Penn- 
sylvania. Thence,  after  a  short  residence,  he  proceeded 
to  Opeckon,  in  Virginia.  There  he  became  acquainted 
with  some  Baptists,  and,  after  a  careful  examination 
of  their  sentiments  and  practice,  was  convinced  of  their 
agreement  with  Scripture.  He  and  his  wife  were  baptized 
in  the  year  1754.  He  was  immediately  licensed  as  a 
preacher,  and  engaged  in  the  work  with  great  ardor. 
Removing  to  North  Carolina,  in  connection  with  Shubael 
Stearns,  he  itinerated  very  extensively,  and  was  every- 
where blessed  as  the  instrument  of  turning  men  to  God. 
He  was  ordained  pastor  of  Abbot's  Creek  church  in 
1758.  Soon  after,  he  baptized  Samuel  Harris,  with 
whom  he  "  made  several  tours,  and  preached  and  planted 
the  gospel  in  several  places,  as  far  as  James  River." 
His  next  station  wf.s  Beaver  Creek,  South  Carolina, 
where  a  large  church  was  the  reward  of  his  labors,  and 
where,  also,  the  whole  surrounding  district  was  evan- 
gelized by  him.  A  similar  blessing  attended  him  at 
Horse  Creek.  As  this  place  was  on  the  borders  of 
Georgia,  he  soon  began  a  series  of  missionary  journeys 
in  that  state;  and  in  1771  he  settled  at  Kiokee.  There, 
too,  surprising  effects  followed.  A  church  was  formed 
in  177^5  which,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  became  the 
1  Benedict,  ii.  351. 


558  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

mother  of  many  other  churches.  There  Mr.  Marshall 
continued  till  his  death.  He  was  spared  to  a  good  old 
age.  On  the  2d  of  November,  1784,116  "went  home," 
"  I  have  been  praying,"  he  said,  "  that  I  may  go  home  to- 
night. .  .  .  God  has  shown  me  that  he  is  my  God,  that  I 
am  his  son,  and  that  an  eternal  weight  of  glory  is  mine." 
Samuel  Harris,  a  native  of  Hanover  county,  Vir- 
gmia,  born  in  1724,  was  one  of  the  most  useful  men  of  his 
day.  He  held  a  higher  position  in  society  than  most  of 
those  who  joined  our  denomination  at  that  time.  He  was 
"  churchwarden,  sheriff,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  burgess 
for  the  county,  colonel  of  the  militia,  captain  of  Mayo 
Fort,  and  commissary  for  the  fort  and  army."  He  be- 
came "  serious  and  melancholy  without  knowing  why," 
till  at  length,  "  by  reading  and  conversation,  he  discovered 
that  he  was  a  hopeless  sinner,  and  that  a  sense  of  his 
guilt  was  the  true  cause  of  his  gloom  of  mind."  While 
on  one  of  his  military  tours  of  inspection,  he  "  ventured 
to  attend  Baptist  preaching,"  and  obtained  relief  by  faith 
in  the  Saviour.  Daniel  Marshall  baptized  him.  From 
that  time  his  life  was  one  act  of  devotedness  and  zeal. 
Practicing  rigid  economy  in  his  house,  he  employed  his 
whole  surplus  income  in  advancing  the  cause  of  religion. 
At  the  time  of  his  conversion  he  was  engaged  in  erecting 
a  large  mansion  for  the  accommodation  of  his  family,  in 
a  style  suited  to  his  rank  and  station  ;  it  was  turned  into  a 
meeting-house,  and  he  continued  to  reside  in  the  old 
building.  Immediately  after  his  baptism  he  commenced 
preaching,  and  traveled  far  and  wide,  proclaiming  the 
great  salvation.  There  was  scarcely  any  place  in  Virginia 
where  he  did  not  sow  the  gospel  seed.  In  the  course 
of  his  ministry  he  met  with  many  rebuffs  and  some  in- 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  559 

jurious  treatment,  but  nothing  diverted  him  from  his  ob- 
ject. He  was  "  bold  as  a  lion"  for  Christ.  Benedict 
says  that  "  his  excellency  lay  chicflj  in  addressing  the 
heart,  and  perhaps  even  Whitefield  did  not  surpass  him 
in  this.  When  animated  himself  he  seldom  failed  to 
animate  his  auditory.  Some  have  described  him,  w^hen 
exhorting  at  great  meetings,  as  pouring  forth  streams  of 
celestial  lightning  from  his  eyes,  which,  whithersoever  he 
turned  his  face,  would  strike  down  hundreds  at  once. 
Hence  he  is  often  called  '  Boanerges.' "  In  common 
with  the  New  Light  preachers  of  these  times,  he  was 
Atremely  impulsive.  "  If  he  began  to  preach,  and  did 
not  feel  some  liberty  of  utterance,  he  would  tell  his 
audience  he  could  not  preach  without  the  Lord,  and  then 
sit  down." 

So  highly  esteemed  was  he  by  his  brethren  that  at 
associations  and  other  public  assemblies  he  always  occu- 
pied a  prominent  place,  and  was  usually  requested  to 
preside.  The  universal  confidence  reposed  in  him  was 
shown  in  a  singular  manner  in  the  year  1774,  when  the 
association,  having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  all  the 
offices  mentioned  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  Ephesians  ii.  20 
should  be  kept  up  in  the  church,  resolved  to  appoint  an 
"  apostle."  The  lot  fell  on  Samuel  Harris,  and  he  was 
ordained  to  the  office ;  "  the  hands  of  every  ordained 
minister  were  laid  upon  him."  The  work  assigned  him 
was  to  visit  the  churches,  "  for  the  purpose  of  perform- 
ing, or  at  least  of  superintending,  the  work  of  ordination, 
and  to  set  in  order  the  things  that  were  wanting."  The 
success  of  the  experiment  was  not  sufficiently  encourag- 
ing, so  that  the  operation  of  the  new  arrangement  soon 
ceased. 


560  BAPTIST  HIST  OR  r. 

The  good  brethren  evidently  mistook  the  New  Testa- 
ment meaning  of  the  word  "  apostle."  The  phraseology 
employed  by  them — "  Messenger  or  Apostle" — indicated 
that  their  design  was  to  establish  a  general  superintend- 
ency,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  modified  episcopacy.  But  Bap- 
tist democracy  would  not  endure  it. 

And  yet  Samuel  Harris  was  truly  "  the  apostle  of  Vir- 
ginia," in  the  sense  in  which  that  word  is  not  unfrequently 
used,  since,  as  has  been  stated,  he  preached  the  gospel 
"■  throughout  all  that  region."     He  died  in  1794. 

These  three,  Shubael  Stearns,  Daniel  Marshall,  and 
Samuel  Harris,  were  the  principal  founders  of  the  Ba|j- 
tist  interest  in  the  South.  They  were  "  the  first  three  ;" 
and  their  names  should  be  held  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance. 

John  Gano,  born  at  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  in  1727, 
and  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1754,  had  the  privilege  of 
spending  half  a  century  in  his  heavenly  Master's  service. 
At  the  request  of  the  Philadelphia  Association  he  under- 
took a  missionary  tour  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas, 
which  issued,  shortly  afterward,  in  his  removal  to  Jersey 
Settlement,  North  Carolina,  where  his  labors  were  abun- 
dantly blessed.  In  the  year  1762  he  became  pastor  of 
the  first  Baptist  church.  New  York,  over  which  he  pre- 
sided, with  much  acceptableness,  till  17S7,  the  period  of 
the  American  war  excepted,  during  which  many  churches 
were  scattered  abroad,  that  at  New  York  among  the 
number.  Mr.  Gano  was  one  of  the  chaplains  in  the 
army,  in  which  capacity  he  was  respected  and.  useful. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  resumed  his  pastorate.  The 
fragments  of  the  dispersed  church  were  gathered  together, 
and  in  a  very  powerful  revival,  wt  ich  shortly  afterward 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  561 

took  place,  forty  persons  were  added  at  one  communion 
season. 

In  1787,  Mr.  Gano  removed  to  Kentucky,  in  wnich  state 
the  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed.  A  paralytic  affec- 
tion partially  disabled  him  ;  but  he  recovered  sufficiently 
to  preach,  during  "the  great  revival"  in  1S02,  "in  an 
astonishing  manner." 

"  As  a  minister  of  Christ,"  said  Dr.  Furman,  "  he 
shone  like  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  in  the  American 
churches,  and  moved  in  a  widely-extended  sphere  of 
action.  For  this  office  God  had  endowed  him  with  a 
large  portion  of  grace  and  with  excellent  gifts.  '  He 
believed^  and  therefore  spake.^  Having  discerned  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  gospel  truths,  and  the  importance  of  eternal 
realities,  he  felt  their  power  on  his  own  soul,  and  accord- 
ingly he  inculcated  and  urged  them  on  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  with  persuasive  eloquence  and  force.  He  was 
not  deficient  in  doctrinal  discussion,  or  what  rhetoricians 
style  the  demonstrative  character  of  a  discussion  ;  but  he 
excelled  in  the  pathetic,  in  pungent,  forcible  addresses  to 
the  heart  and  conscience." 

Mr.  Gano  was  prompt  at  reply  and  retort,  and  evinced 
admirable  tact  in  adapting  remarks  to  circumstances.  I 
will  give  an  instance  or  two  : 

"  While  in  the  army,  Mr.  Gano  had  frequent  opportu- 
nities of  administering  reproof  in  his  skillful  and  foixible 
manner.  One  morning,  as  he  was  going  to  pray  with 
the  regiment,  he  passed  by  a  group  of  officers,  one  of 
whom,  who  had  his  back  toward  him,  was  uttering  his 
profane  expressions  in  a  most  rapid  manner.  The  officers, 
one  after  another,  gave  him  the  usual  salutation.  'Good 
morning,  Doctor,'  said  the  swearing  lieutenant.     '  Good- 


562  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

morning,  sir,'  replied  the  chaplain  ;  '  you  pray  early  this 
morning.'  'I  beg  your  pardon,  sir.'  'Oh,  I  cannot  par- 
don you  :  carry  your  case  to  your  God.' " 

"  In  one  of  his  journeys  he  was  informed  that  there 
had  been  a  revival  of  religion  at  a  certain  place  which  lay 
in  his  route.  He  arrived  there  in  the  night,  and  called  at 
a  house  of  which  he  had  no  previous  knowledge.  A 
woman  came  to  the  door,  whom  he  addressed  as  follows : 
'I  have  understood,  madam,  that  my  Father  has  some 
children  in  this  place  ;  I  wish  to  inquire  where  they  live, 
that  I  may  find  lodgings  here  to-night.'  '  I  hope,'  replied 
the  woman,  '  I  am  one  of  your  Father's  children ;  come 
in,  dear  sir,  and  lodge  here.'  "  ^ 

Lewis  Lunsford  began  to  preach  when  he  was  so 
young  that  he  was  called  "  The  wonderful  boy."  He 
possessed  good  natural  talents,  which  he  improved  by  as- 
siduous study,  and  became  a  public  speaker  of  the  first 
order.  In  1774  he  engaged  in  a  mission  in  the  lower 
counties  of  Virginia,  and  was  astonishingly  blessed. 
Great  numbers  were  converted  in  many  places.  Attempts 
were  made  to  stop  him  ;  on  one  of  those  occasions,  the 
constable  who  was  sent  to  apprehend  him  waited  till  he 
had  done  preaching,  and  then  declared  that  "  he  would 
not  serve  a  warrant  against  so  good  a  man," 

Mr.  Lunsford  became  pastor  of  a  church  in  1772.  His 
stated  labors  were  as  successful  as  his  itinerancy.  There 
were  two  revivals  under  his  ministry,  during  which  he 
"  preached  incessantly."  "  Certain  it  is,"  says  the  author 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  materials  of  these  notices, 
and  whose  description  in  this  case  savors  somewhat  of  the 
rhapsodical,  "  that  during  several  of  the  last  years  of  his 
1  Benedict,  ii.  319,  320. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  563 

life,  he  was  more  caressed,  and  his  preaching  more 
vahied,  than  any  other  man's  that  ever  resided  in  Vir- 
ginia. Lunsford  was  a  sure  preacher,  and  seldom  failed 
to  rise  pretty  high.  In  his  best  strains  he  was  more  like 
an  angel  than  a  man.  His  countenance,  lighted  up  by 
an  inward  flame,  seemed  to  shed  beams  of  light  wher- 
ever he  turned.  His  voice,  always  harmonious,  now 
seemed  to  be  tuned  by  descending  seraphs.  ...  So  highly 
was  he  estimated  among  his  own  people  that  there  were 
but  few  preachers  that  visited  them  to  whom  they  would 
willingly  listen,  even  for  once,  in  preference  to  their  be- 
loved pastor."  ^ 

So  earnest  was  he  in  his  work  that  sometimes,  after 
having  retired  to  his  chamber  on  account  of  being  too  ill 
to  preach,  he  would  rise  from  the  bed,  repair  to  the  place 
of  meeting,  and  pour  out  his  soul  in  impressive  exhorta- 
tions and  appeals. 

The  flame  was  too  powerful  to  last  long.  He  blazed 
out.  At  the  age  of  forty  he  was  called  to  his  rest,  in  the 
year  1793. 

"  Swearing  Jack  Waller"  was  a  native  of  Spott- 
sylvania,  Virginia,  and  served  Satan  faithfully  for  many 
years.  It  was  said  "that  there  could  be  no  deviltry 
among  the  people  unless  '  Swearing  Jack'  was  at  the 
head  of  it."  They  called  him  "  the  devil's  adjutant." 
To  debauchery,  gambling,  and  other  vices  he  added  in- 
tense hatred  of  the  Baptists.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
grand  jury  which  presented  Louis  Craig,  a  Baptist 
minister,  for  preaching  the  gospel.  Mr.  Craig's  meek 
and  serious  address  to  the  grand  jury  sank  into  Mr 
Waller's  heart,  and  produced  deep  conviction  of  sin, 
*  Benedict,  ii.  343. 


564  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

which  drove  him  to  the  brink  of  despair.  He  was  seven 
or  eight  months  in  that  state,  and  for  some  time  after  he 
obtained  peace  he  walked  in  much  fear  and  trembling. 
At  length  he  followed  Christ  in  baptism,  and  then  en- 
tered on  a  career  of  zealous  and  very  successful  labor. 
A  church  was  constituted  in  his  neighborhood,  of  which 
he  became  pastor.  He  preached  the  gospel  in  all  the 
adjacent  counties,  journeying  often  and  extensively  for 
that  purpose.  The  enemies  of  religion  raged  against 
him,  being  the  more  infuriated  on  account  of  his  defec- 
tion from  their  ranks.  He  was  four  times  imprisoned, 
and  suBered  much  for  the  cause  in  various  other  ways. 
But  the  Lord  strengthened  him,  so  that  he  rejoiced  in 
tribulation. 

For  a  few  years  his  usefulness  was  diminished  in  con- 
sequence of  his  embracing  Arminian  sentiments,  and 
separating  from  his  brethren  as  "  an  Independent  Baptist 
preacher."  During  that  time  he  established  camp  meet- 
ings and  drew  immense  multitudes  together,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  much  good  resulted  from  these  ex- 
periments. 

In  17S7  Mr  Waller  resumed  his  former  station.  A 
great  revival  commenced  almost  immediately,  and  lasted 
several  years,  embracing  the  whole  district  in  which  he 
labored.  He  baptized  "  many  hundreds"  during  that 
time,  and  his  church  or  churches  (for  he  presided  over 
five  churches)  increased  to  thirteen  hundred  members. 
He  died  July  4,  iSo3,  in  the  6ist  year  of  his  age. 

I  would  have  given  a  lengthened  account  of  Isaac 
Backus,  A.M.,  the  historian  of  the  Baptists  of  New 
England,  to  whose  indefatigable  diligence  and  zeal  the 
denomination  was  indebted  for  the   suppression  of  the  in- 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  565 

tolerance  under  which  it  had  long  groaned,  and  who  was 
deservedly  loved  and  honored  by  his  brethren  in  every 
part  of  the  Union;  but  this  is  rendered  unnecessary  by 
the  publication  of  Dr.  Hovey's  very  interesting  volume, 
entitled  The  Life  and  Times  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Backus., 
A.jM.i  which  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every  Baptist. 
I  will  only  state  that  Mr.  Backus  was  born  January  9, 
1724,  born  again  1741,  ordained  pastor  of  a  Congrega- 
tional church  1748,  baptized  1751,  installed  pastor  of  a 
Baptist  church  1756,  and  that  he  died  November  20, 
1806.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Backus  Historical 
Society  will  soon  accomplish  their  purpose  to  publish  a 
new  edition  of  his  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  Eng- 
land. 

A  few  other  names  may  be  briefly  recorded. 

Morgan  Edwards  was  born  in  Wales,  received  his 
education  at  the  Baptist  Seminary,  Bristol  (now  "Bristol 
College"),  labored  several  years  in  England  and  in  Ire- 
land, and  after  a  short  pastorate  at  Rye,  Sussex,  settled 
in  America.  He  was  eleven  years  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia.  In  the  latter  years  of  his 
life  he  read  "  lectures  in  divinity"  in  several  places.  He 
rendered  valuable  service  to  the  denomination  by  his  ef- 
forts on  behalf  of  Rhode  Island  College,  by  useful  publi- 
cations— among  which  his  Materials  toward  a  History 
of  the  Baptists  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  may 
be  particularly  mentioned — and  in  other  ways.  He  died 
in  1795,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age. 

David  Thomas  labored  many  years  in  Virginia,  with 

much    success.     He    was   educated   at   Hopewell,   New 

Jersey,  under  the   Rev.  Isaac  Eaton,   and  was  deemed 

worthy  of  the  degree  of  M.  A.   bestowed  on  him  by  the 

48 


566  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

authorities  of  Brown  University.  His  qualifications  for 
the  ministry,  religious  as  well  as  intellectual,  were  of  a 
high  order,  and  God  greatly  blessed  him.  Men  hated 
him  for  it,  and  Satan  stirred  up  his  servants  to  unusual 
manifestations  of  malignity.  Mr.  Thomas  was  reviled 
and  slandered,  and  sometimes  roughly  assaulted.  One 
man  attempted  his  life,  but  was  prevented  from  execut- 
ing his  purpose.  The  servant  of  God  was  "  immortal 
till  his  work  was  done,"  and  that  was  not  till  he  had 
reached  an  advanced  age.^ 

Ebenezer  Kinnersley,  a.  M.  He  was  a  native  of 
Gloucester,  England.  His  father  w£i,s  a  Baptist  minister, 
who  emigrated  to  America  in  1714,  and  became  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Pennepek,  Pennsylvania.  His  son  was 
called  to  the  ministry  by  the  same  church,  1743,  and 
received  ordination,  but  did  not  undertake  the  pas- 
toral office.  Literary  and  scientific  pursuits  engaged  his 
attention.  In  1755  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  profes- 
sors in  the  college  of  Philadelphia,  which  office  he  held 
till  1772,  when  failing  health  compelled  him  to  resign. 
He  died  July  4,  177S,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

Horatio  Gates  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  observes, 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Sprague :  "  It  is  impossible  now  to  as- 
certain for  how  long  a  time,  or  to  what  extent,  Mr.  Kin- 
nersley labored  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  though  it  is 
known  that  he  retained  his  connection  with  the  Baptist 
Church  till  the  close  of  his  life.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  he  acquired  his  chief  renown,  not  in  the  exercise  of 
his  ministry,  but  in  his  scientific  pursuits  and  discoveries. 
....  I  cannot  withhold  the  opinion  that,  owing  to  various 
circumstances,  posterity  has  done  him  but  very  meagre 

1  Taylor's  Lives  of  Virginia  Baptist  Ministers. 


THE   ^UIET  PERIOD.  567 

justice.  That  he  was  intimately  associated  with  Dr. 
Frankhn  in  some  of  his  most  siDlendid  discoveries,  and 
that  Franklin  himself  more  than  once  gratefully  acknow- 
ledged his  aid ;  that  he  attracted  the  attention  of  many 
of  the  most  eminent  philosophers  of  his  day  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic ;  that  he  delivered  lectures  in  Philadel- 
phia, New  York,  Boston,  and  Newport,  on  the  great 
subjects  that  were  then  engrossing  the  attention  of  the 
philosophical  world,  and  that  these  lectures  excited  great 
interest,  especially  among  the  more  intelligent  classes, 
— are  proved  by  evidence  the  most  incontrovertible."  ' 

Oliver  Hart,  A.  M.,  enjoyed  in  early  life  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  ministry  of  Whitefield,  the  Tennents, 
and  other  eminent  men,  and  was  converted  to  God  in  his 
eighteenth  year.  He  became  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1750,  and  held  the  office  thirty 
years.  In  17S0  he  removed  to  Hopewell,  N.  J.,  where 
he  died,  December  31,  1795,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of 
his  age.  Dr.  Furman  said  of  him,  in  a  sermon  preached 
on  occasion  of  his  death,  that  he  was  "  not  only  truly 
but  eminently  religious ;"  that  "  his  sermons  were  pe- 
culiarly serious,  containing  a  happy  assemblage  of  doc- 
trinal and  practical  truths,  set  in  an  engaging  light,  and 
enforced  with  convincing  arguments  ;"  and  that  "  for  the 
discussion  of  doctrinal  truths  he  was  more  especially 
eminent,  to  which  also  he  was  prepared  by  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  an  extensive 
reading  of  the  most  valuable,  both  of  ancient  and  modern 
authors." 

Silas  Mercer,  born  of  Church  of  England  parents 
n  1745,   in  North  Carolina,  became  a  Baptist  in  17755 
1  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  vi.  45-47. 


568  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

after  a  long  and  anxious  mental  struggle.  He  was  im 
mediately  called  to  the  ministry.  During  the  American 
war  he  labored  in  his  native  state  :  so  diligent  was  he  in 
his  work  that  he  preached  two  thousand  sermons  in  six 
years.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  at  Kiokee, 
Georgia,  and  "  was  the  means  of  plai  ting  a  number  of 
churches  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  He  was  justly 
esteemed  one  of  the  most  exemplary  and  useful  ministers 
in  the  Southern  states."^  He  died  in  1796,  in  the  fifty- 
second  year  of  his  age.  The  late  Dr.  Jesse  Mercer  was 
his  son. 

Hezekiah  Smith,  D.  D.  This  excellent  man  was 
born  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  in  1737.  He  was  converted 
in  early  life.  His  classical  education  was  received  at  the 
academy  at  Hopewell,  N.  J.,  whence  he  proceeded  to 
Princeton  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1762.  While 
traveling  for  his  health  in  South  Carolina,  he  formed  an 
acquaintance  with  many  of  the  Baptists  of  that  state,  and 
was  ordained  to  the  Christian  ministry.  In  1765  he  be- 
came pastor  of  the  church  at  Haverhill,  Massachusetts, 
over  which  he  presided  with  distinguished  ability  and 
success  till  January  22,  1805,  when  "  God  took  him." 
During  the  war  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  chaplains 
of  the  army,  in  which  capacity  he  served  four  years. 
*'  He  became  the  intimate  friend  of  Washington,  and 
possessed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  whole  army.  Repeatedly  did  he  expose  his 
life  in  battle,  and  ever  was  he  among  the  foremost  in  en- 
coui^aging  the  soldiers  and  in  soothing  the  sorrows  of  the 
wounded  and  dying."  * 

*  History  of  the  Georgia  Baptist  Association,  p.  3901 

*  Dr.  S.  F.  Smith,  in  Sprague's  Annals. 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  569 

Dr.  Smith  was  an  instructive  and  powerful  preacher, 
an  active  home  missionary,  and  a  wise  and  affectionate 
pastor , 

James  Manning,  D.  D.,  a  native  of  New  Jersc}',  was 
associated  with  Hezekiah  Smith,  both  at  Mr.  Eaton's 
academy  and  at  Princeton.  They  graduated  at  the 
same  time.  Mr.  Manning  undertook  the  pastoral  charge 
of  the  church  at  Warren,  R.  I.,  and  established  an  aca- 
demy there.  That  academy  may  be  regarded  as  the 
germ  of  Rhode  Island  College,  now  Brown  University, 
of  which  he  became  the  first  president  in  1770.  He 
occupied  the  station  with  great  efficiency  till  July  24, 
1 791,  when,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty-three, 
he  was  summoned  to  his  rest.  His  usefulness  was  not 
confined  to  the  college  :  he  aided  his  country  in  the  ses- 
sion of  1787  as  a  member  of  Congress;  and  he  served 
the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Providence  as  its  pastor 
nearly  the  whole  time  of    his  presidency.^ 

Benjamin  Foster,  D.  D.,  born  at  Danvers,  Massa- 
chusetts, received  his  education  at  Yale  College.  His 
parents  were  Congregationalists.  While  at  Yale,  the 
subject  of  infant  baptism  was  selected  for  discussion,  and 
he  was  appointed  to  defend  it,  but  instead  of  doing  so  he 
avowed  himself  a  convert  to  believers'  baptism,  having 
seen  reason  to  change  his  sentiments  while  prosecuting 
the  necessary  researches  for  the  debate.  He  pursued 
theological  studies  under  Dr.  Stillman,  of  Boston,  and 
was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Leicester, 
Massachusetts,    in    1776.      Nine  years  afterward  he  re- 

*See    TTu  Life,   Times,  and  Correspondence  of  fames  Manning,  by 
Reuben  Aldridge   Guild  —  a  valuable    addition  to  our  biographical 
literature. 
48  • 


570  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

moved  to  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  in  17S8  to  New  York.  He 
was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Churcli  in  that  city  till  his 
death,  August  26,  179S,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 
Dr.  Foster  was  a  learned  man  and  a  sound  divine. 

Samuel  Stillman,  D.  D.,  was  forty-two  years  pastor 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Boston,  and  enjoyed  the 
affectionate  confidence  of  its  members,  who  loved  him  as 
a  fellow-Christian  and  revered  him  as  a  faithful  minister 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  was  converted  under  the  minis- 
try of  the  Rev.  Oliver  Hart,  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  set 
apart  to  the  Christian  ministry,  by  ordination,  in  1759. 
After  two  brief  pastorates  in  other  places,  he  formed  a 
happy  connection  with  the  Boston  church — a  connection 
which  was  mutually  conducive  to  comfort  and  usefulness. 
But  the  beneficial  eflfects  of  that  influence  were  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  church.  Dr.  Stillman  was  an  ac- 
tive, wise,  and  large-hearted  philanthropist,  and  a  patriot 
of  the  Christian  stamp.  To  the  public  institutions  of 
Boston  he  gave  the  benefit  of  his  powerful  advocacy,  and 
not  unfrequently  of  personal  effort;  and  the  interests  of 
Brown  University  constantly  shared  his  practical  sym- 
pathy. He  pleaded  with  effect  in  the  pulpit  for  the  be- 
nevolent enterprises  of  the  day.  He  instructed  his  people 
and  the  public,  through  the  press,  by  the  numerous  dis- 
courses with  which  he  favored  them.  The  cause  of  God 
prospered  under  his  instrumentality,  as  repeated  revivals 
testified. 

Dr.  Stillman  had  recently  completed  his  seventieth 
year  when  the  death-stroke  came.  Dr.  Baldwin  visited 
him  in  his  last  illness,  and  expressed  his  sorrow  in  the 
prospect  of  their  approaching  separation.  "  God's  govern- 
ment," replied  the  dying  saint,  "  is  infinitely  perfect" — 


THE  ^UIET  PERIOD.  5/1 

a  pregnant  saying,  and  a  fitting  close  of  the  earthly  min- 
istry.    His  death  took  place  March  12,  1S07. 

Many  other  names  might  be  mentioned  ;  but  "  time 
would  fail,"  and  want  of  space  forbids. 

By  "  wonderful  works "  of  grace  God  had  been  pre- 
paring the  Baptists  of  the  United  States,  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  for  still  more  striking  mani- 
festations, and  for  extensive  missionary  enterprise,  at 
home  and  abroad.' 

1  The  reader  may  be  referred  to  Dr.  Sprague's  American  Baptist  Pulpit 
for  fiill  information  respecting  Baptist  ministers  in  the  United  State*. 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS 

(78 


CHAPTER    I. 

Effects  of  the  Mission  Enterprise — Revivals — Extension  of  the  Denom- 
ination—Statistical Table — Societies — Diversity  and  Adaptation  of 
Talent — Baptist  Agency  now  employed — Peculiarities  of  the  Prespnt 
Period — Duties  of  Baptists. 

THE  formation  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  in 
England  was  an  era  in  the  history  of  our  denomina- 
tion. Enlarged  views  took  the  place  of  the  selfish  and 
narrow-minded  notions  which  had  so  long  prevailed. 
When  the  nature  and  extent  of  Christian  obligation  -in 
reference  to  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  were  understood, 
and  corresponding  action  resulted,  a  healthy  religious 
condition  was  soon  experienced.  The  new  vigor  de- 
manded scope.  Other  enterprises  beside%  foreign  mis- 
sions were  undertaken,  and  they  were  carried  on  with 
persevering  ardor,  characteristic  of  the  altered  state  of 
feeling. 

Domestic  missions  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Baptist 
churches  in  England  as  early  as  1797,  and  have  been 
ever  since  prosecuted  with  judicious  activity'.  On  the 
North  American  continent  extensive  itinerancies  were  the 
ordinary  modes  of  home  effort.  The  rapidly  increasing 
population  could  be  evangelized  in  no  other  way.    These 

575 


576  BAPTIST  HIS  TORT. 

exertions  are  now  directed  by  the  Home  Mission  Society, 
or  by  the  respective  state  conventions. 

In  1813  the  Baptist  churches  of  the  United  States  were 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  indebtedness  to  the  world 
by  the  gracious  interposition  which  brought  Judson  and 
Rice  among  them.  Then  their  missionary  career  com- 
menced. It  has  been  prosperous  in  an  unexampled 
degree. 

The  astonishing  revival  of  religion  which  occurred 
throughout  the  United  States  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century  was  an  educational  process,  tending  to  prepare 
the  servants  of  God  for  the  adoption  of  a  widely  aggres- 
sive policy.  Sanctified  talent  was  developed  eager  for 
employment  in  the  Lord's  cause.  The  spirit  of  consecra- 
tion rested  powerfully  on  the  churches.  Dr.  Carey's 
terse  saying,  "  Expect  great  things,  attempt  great  things," 
became  the  watchword  of  the  large-hearted.  Holy 
activity  was  the  fruit ;  increased  power  was  evolved  to  be 
expended  on  new  exertions  ;  and  the  old  promise  was 
fulfilled,  "  I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great, 
and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing"  (Gen.  xii.  2). 

And  now,  let  us  look  around  and  abroad,  and  exclaim, 
"  What  hath  ^od  wrought !" 

At  the  close  of  the  "  Quiet  Period"  the  number  of 
Baptist  churches  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  somewhat 
exceeded  four  hundred,  containing  probably  about  twenty 
thousand  members.  There  are  now  upward  of  two  thous- 
and four  hundred  churches,  and  the  number  of  members  is 
estimated  at  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand.  Besides 
this,  our  principles  have  taken  root  in  the  colonies  and 
dependencies  of  the  empire,  and  are  spreading  rapidly. 
Baptist  churches  have  been  planted  in  the  West  Indian 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  S77 

Islands,  in  Australia,  in  Van  Diemen's  Land,  in  Africa, 
in  various  parts  of  India,  and  plenteously  in  British  North 
America,  where,  seventy  years  ago,  there  w^ere  but  two 
churches  of  our  denomination  in  existence. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  labors  of  our  beloved 
Brother  Oncken  and  his  energetic  coadjutors  have  been 
remarkably  blessed.  Churches  of  the  primitive  faith  and 
order  exist  in  Hanover,  in  Prussia,  in  several  of  the  Ger- 
man states,  in  France,  in  Switzerland,  in  Denmark,  and 
in  Sweden. 

But  it  is  in  the  United  States  that  the  most  marvelous 
progress  has  been  witnessed.  Several  causes  have  con- 
tributed to  it.  One  is  the  immense  tide  of  emigration  an- 
nually conveying  to  that  country  many  tens  of  thousands 
from  all  parts  of  Europe,  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland,  and 
among  them  numerous  Baptists.  Another  is  the  con- 
geniality of  the  mode  of  government  and  the  state  of 
society  with  the  freedom  of  BajDtist  principles.  The 
adaptation  of  the  Baptist  ministry,  generally,  to  the  con- 
dition and  habits  of  the  people  is  not  to  be  overlooked. 
These,  however,  are  but  secondary  considerations,  al- 
though due  weight  must  be  allowed  them.  Doubtless 
Baptist  churches  have  shared  largely  in  those  outpourings 
of  the  Spirit  which  have  peculiarly  distinguished  Chris- 
tian effort  in  that  part  of  the  world,  and  which,  it  may  be 
believed,  are  ever  specially  connected  with  plain,  faithful 
preaching  and  scrupulous  adherence  to  the  laws  of  the 
"King  of  kings."  In  the  year  1790  there  were  in  the 
United  States  872  churches,  containing  64,975  members. 
There  are  now,  of  Regular  Baptists,  leaving  out  the  Free- 
will, the  Anti-mission,  Six-principle,  and  Seventh-day 
Baptists,    the    "  Church    of    God,"    the    Disciples     (or 


578  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

Campbellites),  the  Tunkers,  and  the  Mennonites,  13,355 
churches,  with  1,109,926  members. 

Gathering  up  the  statistics  into  one  sum,  the  following 
table  exhibits  an  approximation  to  the  present  strength  of 
the  denomination  : 

Churches.  Members. 

United  States 13)355  1,109,926 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland 2,41 1  280,000 

British  North  America 567  41,000 

West  Indies 205  36,000 

Burmah,  Assam,  and  Siam 375  17,000 

Continent  of  Europe 292  23,494 

India 70  3,000 

Total 17,275  1,500,420 


It  is  an  approximation  only.  China,  Africa,  and  Aus- 
tralasia are  left  out  of  the  account,  the  returns  not  being 
sufficiently  clear  and  full  to  warrant  a  definite  statement. 
With  the  exception  of  the  United  States,  Europe,  and 
British  North  America,  all  the  items  in  the  foregoing 
list  are  estimates.,  founded  on  official  reports.  I  believe 
that  they  are  below  the  actual  amounts ;  but  it  was  better 
to  err  on  that  side,  if  entire  accuracy  could  not  be 
attained. 

There  is  another  view  of  the  subject.  This  is  the  age 
of  societies.  Designs  which  would  be  otherwise  imprac- 
ticable can  be  carried  into  effect  by  combination  of  eflbrt 
and  division  of  labor.  We  have  joined  Christians  of 
other  names  in  founding  and  sustaining  institutions  of 
general  utility,  and  have  borne  our  full  share  of  the  bur- 
dens of  philanthropy.  But  there  are  some  departments 
of  Christian  enterprise'  in  which  we  must  be  content  to 
labor  alone.  Among  our  own  benevolent  organizations 
are  the  following : 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  %'jg 

A.D. 

1797.  English  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society. 
1814.  Baptist  Irish  Society. 
1816.   Baptist  Highland  Mission. 

"      Society  for  Aged  or  Infirm  Baptist  Ministers. 
1824-  Baptist  Building  Fund — London. 

"      American  Baptist  Publication  Society. 
1832.  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society. 
1838.  American  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

1840.  Bible  Translation  Society — London. 

1841.  Baptist  Tract  Society — London. 

1845.  Southern  Baptist  Convention  (Home  Missions  and  Bible). 

1850.  American  Bible  Union. 

1853.  American  Baptist  Historical  Society. 

In  the  Foreign  Mission  Department  we  have — 

1792.  Baptist  Missionary  Society — London. 
1814-  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  formerly  the  "  Bap- 
tist General  Convention." 
1816.  General  Baptist  Missionary  Society — London. 
1843.  American  Baptist  Free  Mission  Society. 
1845.  Southern  Baptist  Convention  (Foreign  Missions). 

m  supporting  these  institutions  we  are  enabled,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  to  expend  at  least  $750,000  annually, 
besides  sustaining  extensive  educational  operations,  and 
defraying  all  the  expenses  connected  with  public  worship 
and  the  maintenance  of  the  Christian  ministry. 

Let  me  further  call  to  mind  the  character  of  the 
agencies  by  which  the  great  work  entrusted  to  us  has 
been  hitherto  accomplished.  It  has  been  often  remarked 
that  when  God  is  about  to  execute  some  great  purpose 
he  prepares  beforehand  the  appropriate  agency  ;  and  pro- 
vidential interferences  of  a  surprising  kind,  in  order  to 
bring  about  the  appointed  issue,  have  been  not  unfre- 
quently  noticed.     Let  us  think  for  a  moment  of  the  men 


580  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

God  has  given  us  for  the  work  of  the  last  threescore 
years.  Think  of  the  immortal  three  at  Serampore — 
Carey,  Marshman,  and  Ward.  Think  of  other  mis- 
sionaries, that  have  now  ceased  from  their  labors,  who 
were  admirably  qualified  for  the  positions  they  were 
called  to  occupy — Adoniram  Judson,  with  his  incom- 
parable wives,  and  George  Dana  Boardman,  in  Burmah  ; 
Comstock,  in  Arracan  ;  Chamberlain  and  Yates,  in  India  ; 
Coultart,  Knibb,  and  Burchell,  in  Jamaica  ;  with  many 
yet  living  whose  names  are  familiar  to  the  friends  of  mis- 
sions. Think  of  the  writers  by  whose  powerful  pens  our 
principles  have  been  explained  and  defended.  Think 
of  the  men  of  eloquence  and  the  men  of  counsel  who 
have  swayed  and  guided  public  opinion,  preserved  fix)m 
discouragement,  or  prevented  mistakes.  Think  of  the 
men  of  wealth,  whose  hearts  were  moved  by  the  grace  of 
God  to  "  devise  liberal  things,"  and  whose  examples  have 
so  stimulated  others  that  the  treasury  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence has  seemed  to  be,  like  the  widow's  "  barrel  of  meal" 
and  "  cruse  of  oil,"  inexhaustible.  "  This  also  cometh 
forth  from  the  Lord  of  hosts,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel 
and  excellent  in  working"  (Isa.  xxviii.  29). 

There  is  yet  another  fact  which  must  not  be  lost  sight 
of.  I  refer  to  the  intellectual  machinery  now  in  operation 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind  under  Baptist  superintendence 
or  as  the  result  of  Baptist  labor.  Our  brethren  have 
taken  the  palm  among  translators.  Their  versions  of  the 
Scriptures  will  be  read  by  the  nations  af  the  East  from 
generation  to  generation.  The  swarming  multitudes  of 
India  are  mainly  indebted  to  Carey  and  Yates  for  the 
word  of  God,  and  even  Brahmins  receive  that  word  in 
their  own  venerated 'Sanscrit  from  Baptist  hands.     The 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  581 

natives  of  Burmah,  Assam,  and  Siam  owe  to  Judson  and 
his  associates  their  acquaintance  with  the  divine  oracles. 
In  those  Eastern  countries,  too,  and  wherever  else  our 
missionaries  have  phinted  the  heavenly  standard,  the 
education  of  the  young  has  been  regarded  as  a  matter  of 
prime  importance.  By  the  institutions  they  have  esta- 
blished, or  assisted  in  establishing,  a  foundation  has  been 
laid  on  which  the  temple  of  knowledge  will  be  reared  in 
coming  times. 

In  England,  with  the  exception  of  theological  institu 
tions — which  each  denomination  must  necessarily  found 
for  itself — Baptists  avail  themselves  of  those  facilities  for 
the  acquisition  of  learning  and  science  which  are  abund- 
antly provided  for  all  classes  of  the  community.  But  in 
the  United  States  they  have  manifested,  at  the  same  time, 
enlightened  patriotism  and  denominational  zeal.  Colleges 
and  seminaries  of  the  first  order,  amply  endowed  and 
well  furnished  with  instructors,  supply  the  wants  of  their 
own  families,  and  offer  inducements  to  others  to  partici- 
pate in  the  advantages.  By  this  means  a  salutary  influ- 
ence is  exerted  on  the  community  at  large.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  educational  statistics  of  the  denomination : 

GREAT    BRITAIN. 

LOCATION.  PRESIDENTS.  FOUNDED. 

Bristol  College Rev.  F.  W.  Gotch,  il.d 1770 

Chillwell  College Rev.  W.  Underwood,  d.d 1797 

Kawdon  College Rev.  S.  6.  Green,  b.a 1804 

Pontypool  College,  Wales Rev.  Thos.  Thomas,  d.d 1807 

Reg-i'Dt's  Park  College Rev.  Joseph  Angus,  d.d 1810 

Ha\erfoid west  College Rev.  Thos.  Davies,  d.d 1839 

Glasgow Rev.  James  Paterson,  d.d 1856 

PaJitor's  College Rev.  0.  H.  Spurgeon 1861 

Korth  Wales Rev.  Hugh  Jones,  m.a 1862 

Chamber  Hall Rev.  H.  Dowson 1866 

49* 


582  BAPTIST  HISTORT. 

DOMINION    OF   CANADA. 

NAKE.  LOCATION.  PRfiSIDENTS.        FODNDEn. 

Acadia  College Wolfville,  Nova  Scotia J.  M.  Cramp,  r  D 1838 

Horton  Collegiate  Academy..  Wolfville,  Nova  Sec tia T.  A.  Higgins,  i.M  ..  1828 

Baptist  Seminary Fredericton,  N.  Brunswick...  J.  E.  Hopper,  d.a 183i 

Cana-'lan  Literary  Institute..  Woodstock,  Ontario R.  A.  Fyfe,  d.d 

THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Brown  University Providence,  R.  I Alexis  Caswell,  d.d.,  il.d...  1764 

Madison  University Hamilton,N.  Y Ebenezer  Dodge, d.d 1814 

Colby  University Waterville,  Me J.  T.  Champlin,  d.d 1820 

Columbian  College Washington,  D.  C G.  W.  Samson,  d.d 1821 

Georgetown  College Georgetown,  Ky N.  M.  Crawford,  d.d 1829 

Richmond  College Richmond,  Va T.G.Jones,  d.d 1832 

Denison  University. Granville,  Ohio Samson  Talbot,  d.d 1832 

Mercer  University Penfield,  Ga H.  H.  Tucker,  d.d 1833 

Shnrtleff  College Upper  Alton,  111 Daniel  Read,  ll.d 18.35 

Wake  Forest  College Wake  Forest,  N.  C W.  M.  Wingate,  d.d 1838 

Howard  College... Marion,  Ala E.  L.  Thornton,  a.m 1841 

Baylor  University Independence,  Texas...  William  Carey  Crane,  d.d..  1845 

University  at  Lewisburg Lewisburg,  Pa J.  R.  Loom  is,  ll.d 1849 

William  Jewell  College Liberty,  Mo Thomas  Ranibaut.  ll.d 1849 

University  of  Rochester Rochester,  N.  Y M.  B.  Anderson,  ll.d 1850 

Union  University, Murfreesboro',  Tenn D.  H.  Selpli 1840 

Furman  University Greenville,  S.  C James  C.  Furman,  d.d 1851 

Mississippi  College Clinton,  Miss Walter  Ilillman,  .4..M 1851 

Mount  Lebanon  University...  Mt.  Lebanon,  La 1853 

Kalamazoo  College Kalamazoo,  Mich Kendall  Brooks,  d.d 1855 

Chicago  University Chicago,  III J.  C.  Burroughs,  d.d 1859 

Bethel  College Russellville,  Ky N.  K.  Davis,  a.m 1860 

Waco  University- Waco,  Texas Rufus  C.  Burleson,  d.d 1861 

Petaluma  College Petaluma,  Cal Mark  Baily,  a.m 1866 

BAPTIST    THEOLOGICAL    INSTITUTIONS    IN   THE    UNITED 
STATES. 

name.  location.  senior  professors,  founded. 

Fheol.  Dep.  Madison  University...  Hamilton,  N.  Y Geo.  W.  Eaton,  d.d.lld.  1820 

New  Hampton  Theol.  Seminary...  Fairfax,  Vt 1825 

Newton  Theological  Institution...  Newton  Centre,  Mass.  Alvah  Hovey,  d.d 1828 

Western  Bap.  Theol.  Institution...  Georgetown,  Ky C.  Lewis,  a.m 1840 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  583 

NAME.  LOCATION.  SENIOR  PROFESSORS.    FOUNDED. 

Kalamazoo  Theological  Seminary.  Kalamazoo,  Mich Sila«  Bailey,  d.d 1S4(] 

Rochester  Theological  Seminary...  Rochester,  N.  Y E.  G.  Robinson,  d.d 1850 

Southern  Baptist  Theol.  Seminary  Greenville,  S.  C J.  P.  Boyce,  d.d 1858 

Theological  Dep.  Shurtleff  College  Upper  Alton,  111 Daniel  Read,  ll.d 1863 

Chicivgo  Theological  Seminary Chicago,  111 G.  W.  Northnip,  d.d...  1867 

CJrozer  Theological  Seminary Chester,  Pa H.  G.  Weston,  d.d 1868 

The  Baptist  periodicals  published  in  Great  Britain  are 
—  The  I^reeman,  weekly,  edited  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Angus, 
and  other  gentlemen  ;  The  Baptist  Magazine^  monthly, 
established  in  1809,  and  now  edited  by  the  Rev.  W.  G. 
Lewis;  The  General  Baptist  Magazine;  The  Sxvord 
and  the  Trowel^  monthly,  edited  by  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon ;  The  Primitive  Church  Magazine.,  The 
Gospel  Herald.,  The  Church.,  The  Baptist  Messenger., 
The  Christian  Dial.,  and  The  Voice  of  Truths — all 
monthly.  There  are  also  eight  Welsh  Periodicals,  for  the 
use  of  the  Baptists  of  the  Principality. 

BAPTIST    PERIODICALS    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

NAMES.  ISSUED.  WHERE   PUBUSHED. 

Christian  Herald Weekly Tuscumbla Ala. 

Brangel "  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Christian  Secretary «  Hartford Conn. 

Christian  Index  and  S.  W.  Baptist "  Atlanta Ga. 

Standard •  Chicago 111. 

Western  Recorder "  Louisville Ky. 

Louisiana  Baptist "  Mt.  Lebanon...La. 

Watchman  and  Reflector "  Boston Mass. 

Christian  Era "  Boston Mass. 

Zion's  Advocate «'  Portland Me. 

Baptist  Tidings "  Mason Mich. 

Central  Baptist "  St.  Louis 3Io 

Examiner  and  Chronicle "  New  York....jr.'! 

American  Baptist "  New  York....JJ.Y 

Journal  and  Messenger "  Cincinnati O 

Biblical  Recorder "  Raleigh N.C. 

National  Baptist "  Philadelphia...Pa. 


584  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 


NAMES.  ISSUED.                            'WirEKE   PUBUSHZD. 

South  Cuiolina  Baptist Weekly Anderson S.C. 

Baptist "  Memphis .Tenn. 

Texas  Baptist  Herald "  Houston Texas. 

Beligious  Herald "  Richmond Va. 

Cottage  Visitor "  Hendersonville.N.C 

Aikansas  Baptist "  Little  Rock... Ark. 

Baptist  Missionary  Magazine. Monthly Boston Mass. 

Baptist  Visitor. "  Newtown Md. 

Macedonian  and  Record " 


New  York N.Y. 

Boston Mass. 


Der  Muntere  Saemann,  (German) "  Cincinnati 0. 

young  Reaper «  Philadelphia. ..Pa. 

Der  Sendbote  (German) "  Cincinnati 0. 

Seren  Orllewinol  (Welsh) "  Pottsville Pa. 

Kind  Words "  Memphis Tenn. 

Child's  Delight "  Macon Ga 

Sunday  School  Banner "  Atlanta Ga 

Bible  Advocate Quarterly New  York.... JJ.Y,  ■ 

Baptist  Quarterly "         Philadelphia...Pa. 


BAPTIST    PERIODICALS    IN    THE    DOMINION    OF   CANADA. 

NAMES.  ISSUED.  WHERE  PUBUSUED. 

Canadian  Baptist Weekly Toronto. ...Can.  W. 

Le  Moniteur. "  Granby Can.  E. 

Christian  Messenger "  Halifax JJ.S. 

The  Christian  Visitor "  St.  John N.B. 

God  has  assigned  us  an  honorable  position.  It  remains 
that  we  prove  ourselves  worthy  of  it. 

The  principles  of  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century  are  undergoing  expansion.  Men  are  busily  en- 
gaged in  examining  the  foundations  and  tracing  all 
things  to  their  origin.  The  claims  of  prescription  and 
custom  are  disallowed.  In  religion,  the  stand  taken  by 
the  old  Reformers  is  fully  recognized  :  nothing  is  to  be 
admitted  which  cannot  be  sustained  "  by  Scripture  and 
necessary  reason."  With  such  views,  inquirers  conduct 
their  investigations  fearlessly,  and  push  them  on  in  every 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  585 

direction.  Abandoning  the  traditionary,  they  ask  for  a 
system  of  truth  and  practice  which  will  abide  the  test  of 
searching  criticism.  They  desire  to  clear  away  all  rub- 
bish and  to  find  "  the  old  paths." 

We  profess  to  be  walking  in  them  and  to  carry  out 
the  Reformation  to  its  legitimate  issues.  It  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that,  as  independent  inquiry  pro- 
ceeds, scrutinizing  all  forms  of  religious  profession,  our 
sentiments  and  practices  will  be  extensively  embraced,  as 
presenting  the  nearest  resemblance  to  primitive  Chris- 
tianity. The  observance  of  infant  baptism  is  dying  away 
among  our  Pasdobaptist  brethren.  We  may  fairly  infer 
that  large  accessions  to  our  ranks  will  follow. 

What,  then,  are  the  duties  especially  incumbent  on  us 
under  such  circumstances?  To  this  question,  it  maybe 
briefly  replied  :  That,  if  we  would  maintain  our  position, 
we  must,  in  the  first  place,  cultivate  with  growing  earn- 
estness intelligent  and  warm-hearted  piety ;  we  must 
adopt  measures  for  the  exposition  and  diffusion  of  our 
sentiments  on  those  points  in  which  we  differ  from  other 
religious  denominations ;  we  must  extend  our  Christian 
influence  by  home-missionary  efforts,  conducted  on  a 
liberal  scale  ;  we  must  foster  rising  talent,  and  give  to  all 
the  Lord's  servants  opportunities  of  being  employed  in 
his  cause,  according  to  their  respective  gifts ;  we  must 
cherish  an  enthusiastic  zeal  for  education ;  we  must 
effectually  engage  the  sympathies  of  the  young  ;  we  must 
be  ever  ready  to  promote  social  improvements  and  o  for- 
ward philanthropic  designs ;  and  we  must  exemplify,  in 
the  whole,  unbroken  union,  devotedness  to  the  Saviour, 
and  believing  reliance  on    divine  aid. 

It  would  be  easy  to  enlarge  on  each  of  these  topics 


586  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

I  will  confine  myself,  however,  to  the  most  important- 
personal  piety. 

Baptists  should  be  a  pre-eminently  devoted  people. 
Our  profession  and  practice  are  peculiar.  We  deem  it 
oui  special  mission  to  plead  for  personal  obedience  to  die 
will  of  the  Lord.  For  this  we  have  always  contended. 
We  reject  hereditary  membership,  holding  that  men  are 
not  born  Christians,  but  that  they  become  Christians 
when  they  are  born  again,  and  that,  until  then,  they  have 
no  right  to  Christian  ordinances,  because  they  cannot  en- 
joy Christian  blessings.  We  deny  sacramental  power, 
maintaining  that  the  soul  is  renewed  and  sanctified,  not 
by  any  outward  act  performed  upon  us  or  by  us,  but  by 
the  truth  of  the  gospel  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
We  gather  from  the  teachings  of  the  aposdes  that  a  man 
should  be  a  Christian  before  he  avows  himself  to  be  one ; 
and,  in  full  accordance,  as  we  believe,  with  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  New  Testament,  we  admit  none  to  our  fellow- 
ship without  a  profession  of  repentance  toward  God  and 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Their  baptism  is  at  the 
same  time  a  declaration  of  their  sole  reliance  on  the 
Saviour,  and  a  symbol  of  their  union  with  him  in  his 
death  and  his  resurrection — a  spiritual,  vital  union.  Our 
churches,  so  constituted,  profess  to  be  societies  of  believ- 
ers, congregations  of  saints. 

Membership  in  Baptist  churches,  therefore,  implies 
piety.  The  object  of  our  union  is  to  nurture  godliness 
in  each  other,  and  to  diffuse  it  abroad  to  the  greatest  ex- 
tent possible.  Abjuring  all  attempts  at  mere  outward 
attraction,  our  eflbrts  tend  exclusively  to  the  advancement 
of  personal  religion.  We  invite  men  to  the  faith  and 
holiness  of  the  primitive  churches.     Our  desire  is  first 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  587 

to  call  them  to  God,  and  then  to  train  them  for  heaven 
by  a  course  of  spiritual  education.  All  this  cannot  be 
accomplished  but  by  a  truly  spiritual  community,  nor  can 
such  ertbrts  be  long  sustained  unless  there  be  a  continued 
spiritual  j^rogress.  Orthodoxy  is  necessary,  and  order  is 
necessary  ;  but  neither  orthodoxy  nor  order  will  ensure 
prosperity  without  a  living  likeness  to  Christ.  How 
earnestly  should  we  aspire  after  that  blessing !  How 
diligently  should  we  labor  to  obtain  it,  and  in  increasing 
measure  !  With  what  ardor  should  we  adopt  all  scrip- 
tural means  to  promote  communion  with  the  Redeemer, 
and  to  enkindle  sympathy  and  love  among  his  servants ' 
The  extent  and  saving  efficacy  of  our  influence  must  de 
pend  on  the  amount  of  our  spiritual  attainments.  There 
are  sects  which  can  prosper  without  those  attainments, 
because  of  the  worldliness  that  is  inherent  in  their  con- 
stitutions, and  the  connection  of  church  privileges  with 
natural  descent ;  but  the  Baptists  depend  altogether 
for  success  and  enlargement  on  the  prevalence  of  true 
godliness  among  their  members.  Our  churches  will  be 
fit  asylums  for  those  who  shall  escape  from  the  perils 
of  cold  and  torpid  formality  only  as  they  shall  exemplify 
the  "  work  of  faith,  and  labor  of  love,  and  patience  of 
hope,"  by  which  the  early  followers  of  the  Lord  were 
distinguished.  If  these  be  wanting  or  notably  deficient, 
inquirers  will  go  w'here  there  is  more  power,  though  the 
form  and  order  may  be  less  agreeable  to  the  apostolic 
pattern,  and  our  "future"  will  be  darkened  by  clouds  of 
disgrace  and  failure. 

With  what  eagerness,  then,  should  we  engage  in  ah 
endeavors  by  which  earnest  Christian  piety  and  zeal  may 
be  promoted  among  us !     How  closely  should  we  cling 


588  BAPTIST  HISTORY. 

to  evangelioal  truth,  watching  against  all  tendency  to 
lower  the  standard  or  to  substitute  the  elegant  essay  foi 
biblical  teaching  and  fervent  appeal !  How  carefully 
should  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  be  cherished  !  How  dili- 
gently should  all  opportunities  for  furthering  mutual  pro- 
gress in  piety  be  improved  !  How  numerous  and  well 
sustained  should  be  the  efforts  of  benevolence  and  zeal, 
thus  establishing  the  connection  between  Christian  ac- 
tivity and  spiritual-mindedness,  and  "  proving  what  is 
that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God." 
And  with  what  vigilant  observance  should  the  laws  of 
discipline  be  honored,  so  that,  the  purity  of  the  churches 
being  maintained,  their  members  may  be  "  epistles  of 
Christ,  known  and  read  of  all  men."  If  by  these  meth- 
ods a  vigorous  and  fruitful  godliness  becomes  character- 
istic of  our  denomination,  the  force  of  the  attraction  will 
be  felt  by  all  around  us ;  union  with  our  churches  will  be 
regarded  as  not  merely  a  duty,  but  a  privilege,  and  thou- 
sands will  say,  "  We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  have  heard 
that  God  is  with  you."  Men  will  perceive  that  our  pro- 
fession of  adherence  to  primitive  simplicity  and  purity  is 
warranted  by  fact — that  our  devotedness  to  the  Saviour's 
cause  is  not  impulsive,  but  habitual — and  that  in  joining 
our  ranks  they  will  not  only  obey  the  dictates  of  scrip- 
tural conscientiousness,  but  also  secure  a  large  measure 
of  Christian  enjoyment,  and  a  fuller  unfolding  of  the 
Christian  life. 

"  There  is  a  future  for  the  Baptists,"  and  it  is  our  duty 
to  prepare  for  it.  Thousands  of  souls,  just  looking  out 
of  obscurity  and  "  feeling  after  God,"  ask  oin*  guidance 
in  the  search  for  truth  and  life,  Fi-eedom,  outraged  and 
down-trodden  by  earthly  tyrants,  calls  upon  us  to  assert 


STATISTICS  AND  REFLECTIONS.  589 

the  rights  of  conscience  and  its  entire  immunity  from 
human  control ;  and,  while  it  beckons  us  to  the  holy  war, 
reminds  us  that  it  is  our  glory — a  glory  in  which  most 
Protestant  communities  have  no  share — to  wield  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit  with  hands  that  have  never  been  red- 
dened by  a  brother's  blood.  Our  martyrs — burnt,  be- 
headed, strangled,  "or  drowned,  in  every  European  coun- 
try at  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  and  as  yet  unknown 
to  fame,  although  their  Christian  heroism  was  right  noble 
—  expect  us,  in  the  diftlision  and  defence  of  the  truths 
for  which  they  suffered,  to  display  a  zeal  befitting  the 
privileges  we  enjoy.  A  great  work  is  before  us,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  demanding  ardent  love,  enterprising 
boldness,  and  indomitable  perseverance. 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Archbishop,  299. 

Abbott,  Mordecai,  524. 

Act  of  Uniformity,  324,  330,  419,  479. 

Alberic,  Cardinal,  133. 

Albigenses,  99,  116. 

Aldegonde,  Saint,  counselor  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  263. 

Algerius  burned,  157. 

Alva,  Duke  of,  270. 

Alzey,  Martyrdoms  at,  168. 

Anne,  of  Bohemia,  befriends  Wycliffe, 
122. 

Apostles  appointed  in  Virginia,  545. 

Apostolic  Fathers,  20. 

Arefastus,  his  treachery,  83. 

Amaldistae,  100. 

Arnold  of  Brescia,  97,  135 ;  banished, 
136  ;  St.  Bernard's  testimony  to,  lb.  ; 
martyrdom  at  Rome,  137;  opinions  on, 
/*. 

Arras,  heretics  at,  83 ;  reject  baptism,  84. 

Arthur,  Prince,  immersed,  148. 

Askew,  Anne,  235. 

Assembly  of  Divines,  313. 

Association  formed,  540 ;  date  o^  in  dif- 
ferent states,  542. 

Augustine,  St.,  favors  infant  baptism,  44. 

Augustine,  the  monk,  his  course  in  Eng- 
land, 63. 

Aurelius,  Marcus,  22. 

Austin,  Abraham,  anecdote  of,  58. 

Aylesbury,  Baptists  in,  332, 

Backus,  Isaac,  A.M.  564- 


Backus,  Mrs.  Elizth.,  539. 

Bair,  Johannes,  letter  of,  173. 

Bampfield,  Francis,  422  ;  died  in  ;risoiH 
425- 

Baptism,  defined,  13 ;  administered  to 
believers  only,  16. ;  at  first  adminis- 
tered as  soon  as  person  believed,  43  ; 
where  administered,  49;  by  immer- 
sion, 19;  progress  of  error  respect- 
ing, 26;  Justin  Martyr's  account  of, 
22 ;  additions  to  ordinance  in  third 
century,  28. 

Baptismal  controversy,  publications  on 
in  seventeenth  century,  266. 

Baptismal  regeneration,  one  of  the  earli- 
est corruptions  of  Christianity,  47 ;  its 
demoralizing  eflfects,  lb. 

Baptismal  service,  in  earliest  vtrritings 
only  for  catechumens,  43. 

Baptist  Board,  English,  488. 

Baptists,  act  of  banishment  of,  463;  a 
future  for,  588 ;  books  burned,  205 ; 
books  by,  299  ;  duties  of,  585-588  ;  ex- 
cepted from  general  acts  of  pardon, 
234;  expelled  from  Moravia,  194,  266; 
do.  fi-om  Switzerland,  269  ;  first  wit- 
ness for  God  during  Reformation  age 
in  Germany,  161 ;  hard  names  applied 
to,  156;  in  America,  460;  in  England, 
231 ;  in  Moravia.  188 ;  in  Netherlands, 
19s;  in  Switzerland,  179;  no  s3Tnpa- 
thy  fi-om  Reformers,  152  ;  persecuted 
by  all  sects  in  England,  261 ;  persecu- 
tions in  America,  127-533 ;  prinr'plea 
591 


592 


INDEX. 


and  practices  ot  in  England,  379-390 ; 
spread  of,  164,  169  ;  statistics  of,  471, 
5°3>  527,  576-578;  testimony  of  Biillinger 
and  Meshovius  to,  179 ;  under  the  Com- 
monwealth, 317  ;  use  of  press  by,  291  ; 
vanguard  of  Protestants  in  England, 
242. 

Baxter,  Richard,  on  liberty  of  religion, 
308 ;  on  immers'on,  314. 

Beddome,  Benjamin,  A.M.,  519-21. 

Bede,  quoted,  64,  note. 

Berengar,  of  Tours,  his  fame  as  a  teacher, 
125 ;  writings  on  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper,  126 ;  death  of,  127 ; 
followers  of,  lb. 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  133. 

Bernard,  St.,  opposes  Arnold,  136. 

Bemkop,  Leonhard,  burned,  173. 

Bestevaer,  martyr,  200. 

Betrayer,  a,  his  fearful  end,  209. 

Bible  translation,  5S0. 

Blackwood,  Christopher,  the  "oracle  of 
Anabaptists  in  Ireland,"  399. 

Blietel,  Hans,  minister,  martyr,  229. 

"  Bloody  Tenet  of  persecution,"  465. 

Bocking,  England,  arrest  of  Baptists  at, 
241. 

Bockleson,  Jan,  introduces  polygamy  at 
Munster,  253. 

Bogaert,  Peter,  262. 

Bohemia,  spread  of  gospel  in,  122,  144, 

Boniface,  puzzled  by  sponsorship,  57. 

Boni  Homines,  139. 

Bonner,  Bishop,  zeal  against  Baptists, 
242. 

Book  Society,  English.  490. 

Bosch,  Jan,  or  Jan  Durps,  227. 

Boucher,  Joan,  why  burned,  155,  235, 
236. 

Bouwens,  Leonard,  baptized  10,000  per- 
sons, 156. 

Bradford,  244,  245. 

Brand- Hueber,  Wolfgang,  put  to  death, 
166. 

Breal,  Hans,  imprisoned,  175 ;  death, 
176. 

Brewer,  Thomas,  iraprisaiment  of,  302. 

BiiD«,  John,  499i  505. 


Bristol  College,  491. 

British  North  America,  first  Baptists  ii^ 

549;  first  church  in,  550;   prominent 

ministers  in,  550 ;  first  association  in, 

552. 
Broadmead    Church,   Bristol,   founded, 

345  ;  persecutors  of,  346,  427. 
Brown,  Chad,  461. 
Brown,  Nicholas,  Efq.,  548. 
Brown  University,  546-548. 
Brownists,  286. 
Bucer,  170. 

Bullinger,  testimony  to  Baptists,  179. 
Bunsen,   Baron,  on  Tertullian's  opp.  to 

baptism  of  young,  30 ;  on  baptism  and 

inf  baptism  in  early  church,  41,  42. 
Bunyan,  John,  325,  431 ;  death  of,  43a; 

Cowper's  lines  on,  432  ;  439. 
Busher,  Leonard,  writings  of,  291. 

Calcuith,  England,  synod  at,  forbids 
pouring,  87. 

Canne,  John,  411 ;  his  writings,  41J. 

Carcassone,  papal  atrocities  at,  114. 

Carey,  William,  502,  576. 

Caswell,  Dr.  Alexis,  548. 

Catechumens,  42. 

Cathari,  99,  104,  105. 

Catholic  and  orthodox  defined,  52. 

Chalmers,  Dr.,  18. 

Charles  I.,  unremitting  persecution,  301. 

Charles  II.,  promises  liberty  of  con- 
science, 322;  promise  broken,  lb.  I 
persecution  of  Baptists  on  his  return, 
324,  329,  359. 

Charles  V.,  cruelty  to  women,  152  ;  bit- 
ter against  Baptists,  167 ;  further 
edicts,  170,  195  ;  introduces  Inquisition 
into  Netherlands,  198. 

Charlemagne,  capitilary  of,  decrees  in* 
fant  baptism,  88. 

Charlestown,  Baptist  church  formed  ii^ 
469. 

Chase,  Dr.  Ira,  24,  note ;  32,  note. 

Cheare,  Abraham,  418. 

Chedsey,  Dr.,  against  Baptists,  245. 

Cheshire,  early  Baptist  church  in,  agjL 

Chipman,  T.  H.,  ssa 


INDEX. 


593 


"City  Remonstrance,"  of  London  against 
toleration,  310. 

Claeson,  Jan,  martyr,  200 

Clapham,  Enoch,  286. 

Clark,  Dr.  John,  462,  478. 

Claudia,  37. 

Colleges,  Baptist,  581. 

Collins,  William  and  Hercules,  457. 

Confession  of  Faith  of  London  churches, 
1644,  306;  358. 

Colporteurs,  early,  106,  205. 

Congregational  clergy  persecute  Bap- 
tists, 470. 

Connecticut,  Baptists  in,  536. 

Consolamentum,  139. 

Constance,  Council  of,  condemns  Wy- 
clifFe,  120. 

Constantine  defers  baptism,  44 ;  expect- 
ed to  govern  the  church,  S'- 

Constantine,  of  Mananalis,  conversion, 
labors,  and  martyrdom,  72,  73. 

Constantine,  Pogonatus,  73. 

Conventicle  Act,  33S ;  its  results,  339. 

Cornwell,  Francis,  397  ;  his  work  on  bap- 
tism, 398. 

Cortenbosch,  J.,  262. 

Councils,  no  decrees  of;  against  heretics 
till  eleventh  century,  85  ;  at  Carthage, 
33;  Constance,  120,  122;  Third  Late- 
ran,  113  ;  Lombers,  139;  London,  142; 
Milevi,  62  ;  Oxford,  143. 

Coverdale  signs  sentence  of  Van  Pare, 
239- 

Coxe,  Benjamin,  and  Nehemiah,  D.  D., 
457- 

Cranmer,  235,  236. 

Cromwell  and  the  Baptists,  317-320. 

Crusades,  results,  92 

Cyprian,  33. 

Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  48. 

D'Anvers,  Henry,  423. 
Darkest  time  for  Dissenters,  375. 
Deaths  in  prison,  34,  272  ;  356 ;  of  eight 

thousand  persons,  364  ;  425. 
Declaration    of   Indulgence,    357;     not 

favored  by  Dissenters,  lb.  ;  377,  452. 
Declension,  in  England,  49S,  499. 

60* 


"  De   Hxretico  Comburendo,"  statutC) 

122. 
Delaune,  Thomas,  360  •  his  Plea  for  Non- 
conformists, 361 ;  dies  in  prison  incou> 

sequence,  364,  427. 
Delaware,  Baptists  in,  536. 
Denne,  Henry,  327,  393;  answers  "The 

Dippers  Dipt,"  399;  labors,  396,  397. 
Deoduin,   testimony    to    Berengar   and 

Bruno,  126. 
Deputies,  body  of,  489. 
Diet  of  Spires,  edict  of,  168,  170. 
Dimock,  Joseph,  55° ;  Shubasl,  549. 
"  Dippers  Dipt,"  by  Dr.  Featley,  30s. 
Dirks,  Clement,  martyr,  205,  226. 
Discipline  of  English  churches,  381-385, 

4S5-487. 
Dissenters,  trick  on,  493. 
Dominic,  114. 
Dominicans,  founded,  112. 
Donatists,  55,  59  ;  rebaptizers,  60  ;  said 

to  reject  infant  baptism,  60. 
Dutch  Baptists,  270-282. 
Du  Veil,  Dr.,  429. 
Dyke,  Daniel,  319. 

Eaton,  Rev.  Isaac,  549. 
Eckbert,  sermons  on  heretics,  139. 
Education  of  ministers,  358,  428,  491,  548. 
Education  Society,  Bristol,  491. 
Edward  VL,  immersed,  148. 
Edwards,  Rev.  Morgan,  479,  565. 
Elders,  385. 

Elizabeth,  Princess,  immersed,  148. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  245 ;  orders  Baptists 

out  of  England,  247. 
Emblem,  John,  470. 
Emperors,  German,  persecutors,  113. 
Ephrera  of  Edessa,  46. 
Erasmus,  181. 
Essex,  Baptists  in,  241. 
Eugenius,  Pope,  133. 
Eusebius,  21. 

Evans,  Rev.  Hugh  and  Dr.  Caleb,  491. 
Evervinus,  138. 

Ewins,  Thomas,  of  Broadmead,  345. 
Exeter,  Synod  of  prescribes  immersion 

of  infants,  148. 


594 


INDEX. 


Fkatlky,   I>r  ,  his  book  against   the 

Baptists,  305. 
Felbinger,  Claes,  martyr,  228. 
Fenstanton  Church,  382. 
Ferdinand    of   Hungary,   edict    against 

Baptists,  167. 
Fidus,  writes  to  Cyprian,  33. 
Five-Mile  Act,  339 ;  cruelly  enforced  by 

Archbishop  Sheldon  and  his  clergy, 

341- 
Fonts  for  immersing  of  adults,   50 ;  of 

children,  148. 
Foreign  Missions,  beginning  of,  in  Eng- 
land, 502 ;  an  era  in  history,  575 ;  in 

United  States,  576. 
Forty,  Henry,  457. 
Foster,  Benj.,  D.  D.,  569. 
Fownes,   George,  pastor  of  Broadmead 

Church,  351 ;  dies  in  prison,  356. 
Fox,  John,  his  letter  of  intercession,  273. 
Franc,  Sebastian,  168. 
Franciscans,  founded,  112. 
Frederic    II.,    Emperor,    edict    against 

heretics,  138. 
Free  communion,  498. 
Free  Will  Baptists,  498. 
Fuller,  Andrew,  501,  502. 
Fuller,  Thomas,  on  the  ashes  of  Wycliflfe, 


Gale,  Dr.  John,  504. 

Gano,  John,  560-562. 

Garden-brethren,  166. 

Gardiner,  Bishop,  234,  243. 

Gaunt,  Elizabeth,  373. 

General  Assembly  in  London,  484,  487. 

General  Baptists,  498. 

Genesius,  74. 

Georgia,  Baptists  in,  539. 

Germany,  heretics  burned  in,  113. 

Gibbon  on  Constantine's  de'ay  of  bap- 
tism, 47 ;  69,  80. 

Giesler  on  spread  of  infant  baptism,  45. 

Gifford,  Dr.  Andrew,  523. 

Gill,  John,  D.  D.,  499,  506. 

Gosnold,  John,  457. 

Gould,  Thos.,  first  pastor  of  Boston 
Church,  470. 


Grantham,  Thomas,  434. 
Gregory  IX.  establishes  Inquisition,  11^ 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  46. 
Gregory  the  Great,  49. 
Gretser  the  Jesuit,  character  of  the  Ana- 
baptists, 109. 
Grovenstein,  Count  oi,  177. 
Guitmund,  testimony  to  Berengar,  127. 

Hagenbach  on  infant  baptism,  17 ;  on 

Irenaeus,  24. 
"  Half-way  Covenant,"  527. 
Hall,  Robert,  491,  510. 
Hall,  Robert,  of  Arnsby,  500,  515. 
Hammond,  George,  457. 
Hampton  Court  Conference,  285. 
Hardcastle,  Thomas,  pastor  of  Broad- 
mead  Church,  347. 
Harding,  Theodore  S.  and  Harris,  550, 

SSI- 
Harris,  Samuel,  558-560. 
Harrison,  Major-General,  399 ;  letter  to 

Cromwell,  401. 
Hart,  Oliver,  A.  M.,  567. 
Hase-poot,  Gerrit,  martyr,  204 
Hawks,  Dr.,  on  Baptists  in  Virginia,  533. 
Helwys,  Thos.,  287,  391,  392. 
Henry  of  Lausanne,  98 ;  labors  of,  131 ; 

imprisoned,  132 ;  dies  in  prison,  134. 
Henry  VIII.,  231. 

Heresy,  recipe  for  suppression  of,  88. 
Heretics  defined,  52 ;  activity  oi,  cause 

of  complaint,  103. 
Hetzer,  Louis,  martyr,  187. 
Hewlings,  grandsons  of  Wra.  Kiffin,  theii 

death,  365-373- 
Heynes,  Richt,  martyr,  201. 
Hildebert,  bishop  of  Mans,  134. 
Hildebrand,  in  his  age  light  begins  t# 

spread,  91. 
HoUiman,  Thos.,  baptizes  Roger  Wil 

liams,  461. 
HoUis,  Thos.,  Esq.,  524. 
Hollis,  Thos.  and  John,  525. 
Holmes,     Obadiah,    465;    fined,     466, 

whipped,  467-469. 
Hombourg,  Diet  of,  against  Baptists,  16* 
Hooper,  his  difficulties,  236-238. 


INDEX. 


595 


Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  academy  at,  549. 

Howard,  John,  518. 

Howe,  Samuel,  his  burial  in  the  high- 
way, 304. 

Hubmeyer,  Balthazar,  martyr,  182-186. 

Hull,  Isaac,  470. 

"Humble  Supplication,"  297. 

Humiliati,  i30. 

Huss,  Joha  122. 

Hutter,  Jacob,  leader  of  Baptists  in  Mo- 
ravia, 188  ;  noble  letter  of,  189-194. 

Hutchinson,  Colonel,  402 ;  becomes  a 
Baptist,  403. 

Hyde,  Chief- Justice,  335. 

Ignatius,  22. 

Illinois,  Baptists  in,  540. 

Immersion.  18.  19,  48,  49,  87,  148. 

Ina,  king  of  West  Saxons,  law  of,  com- 
pelling infant  baptism,  86. 

Infant  baptism  by  immersion,  87,  88, 
148 ;  enjoined  by  law,  53,  88 ;  origin 
of,  32-34;  protested  against  for  five 
centuries,  147 ;  rejected  by  Reformers 
in  twelfth  century,  124;  religious  de- 
clension, the  cause  and  effect  of,  37 ; 
rests  on  two  pillars,  54 ;  slow  progress, 
45  ;  unknown  to  Tertullian,  29. 

Infant  communion,  35. 

Innocent  III.,  crusade  against  heretics, 
114. 

Inquisition  established,  114. 

Inzabatati,  loa 

Ireland,  early  Baptist  churches  in,  32a 

Itinerancy  in  America,  575. 

Ives,  Jeremiah,  458. 

Jacobi,  Professor,  16. 

James  I.,  his  intolerance,  283  ;  sufferings 
of  Baptists  under,  296.  ' 

James,  John,  shameful  cruelty  to,  328. 

Jerome,  48. 

Jessey,  lenry,  319,  406 ;  his  large  char- 
ities, 403 ;  knowledge  of  Scripture,  410. 

Jewel,  Bishop,  letter  about  Baptists.  247. 

Jones,  Samuel,  S49- 

Judaism,  13. 

Judson,  Dr.  Adoniram,  576.  ' 


Justinian  ignores  rights  of  conscience,  53 
Justin  Martyr,  23. 

Justus  stones  Constantine,  73;  betrays 
Simeon,  74. 

Kaye,  Bishop,  on  Tertullian,  28. 
Keach,  Benjamin,  his  "  Child's  Ineti"«*' 

or,"  333;  indicted  for  it,  334;  in  t}>"" 

pillory,  336 ;  440 ;  works,  441 ;  479. 
Keach,  Ellas,  479. 
Kemels,  Christian,  his  death  in  prisot 

273- 
Kent,  Baptists  in,  241,  325. 
Kentucky,  Baptists  in,  539. 
Kiffin,  William,  302,  327,  333,  378,  427 

440;  sketch  of  life,  445-457- 
Kimball,  Mrs.  Martha,  530. 
Kinnersley,  Ebenezer,  A.  M.,  566. 
Kittery,  church  at,  471. 
Klampherer,  Julius,  177. 
Knipperdolling  at  Munster,  253. 
Knollys,    Hanserd,   328,    427,    435-440; 

461,  note. 
Koch,  Hans,  put  to  death,  i6i. 

Labbe  the  Jesuit,  on  Peter  of  Bruys, 
I3J- 

Landis,  John,  minister,  martyr,  269. 

Langedul,  Andries,  martyr,  207. 

Langedul,  Christian,  martyr,  letter  of, 
209. 

Languedoc,  slaughters  in,  1 14. 

Latimer,  Bishop,  on  the  Baptists,  23^ 
235- 

Laying  on  of  hands  after  baptism,  388. 

Leander,  bishop  of  Seville,  letter  of 
Gregory  to,  49. 

Legate,  Bartholomew,  burned  in  Smith- 
field,  289. 

Legislation  in  the  church,  sin  ofj  53. 

Leo  the  Great,  49. 

Lewes,  in  Sussex,  Baptists  fined  in,  343 

Lichtenstein,  Prince,  145. 

Lingard  on  mode  of  baptism,  87. 

Lollards,  104,  121,  143. 

Lombers,  Baptists  at,  139. 

Long  imprisonments  of  ministers,  39a 

Lucius,  King,  37. 


596 


INDEX. 


Lucius,  Pope,  proscribes  Amoldists,  138, 

139- 
Lunsford,  Lewis,  562,  563. 
Luther,  151;  burns  pope's  bull,  160. 

Macgowan,  John,  512. 

Maine,  Baptists  in,  538. 

Manes,  his  system,  67. 

Manichasans,  thei'  system  a  compound 
of  Oriental  philosophy  and  Chris- 
tianity, 67 ;  common  to  call  all  oppo- 
nents by  this  name,  68. 

Mannings,  the,  Dr.  James,  546.  5^9  '• 
Edward  and  James,  551. 

Mantz,  Felix,  martyr,  180-182. 

Martin  V.,  Pope,  orders  Wycliffe's 
bones  to  be  burned,  120;  views  of, 
142. 

Mass,  origin  of  word,  43. 

Matthys,  Jan,  at  Munster,  250;  killed, 
251. 

Marshall,  Daniel,  554,  556-558. 

Marshall,  Rev.  Mr.,  531. 

Maryland,  Baptists  in,  537. 

Mason,  Rev.  Nathan,  550. 

Massachusetts,  Baptists  in,  463-475 ; 
529-531- 

Maxcy,  Dr.,  547. 

Mendicant  orders,  118,  119. 

Meniio,  156,  igg,  211;  life  of,  212-221; 
works  of,  221-224. 

Mercer,  Silas,  567 ;  Dr.  Jesse,  568. 

Meshovius,  testimony  to  Baptists,  179. 

Messer,  Dr.,  547. 

Meyster,  Leonard,  put  to  death,  161. 

Middleton,  Humphrey,  burned,  242. 

Miles,  John,  of  Swansea,  479. 

Milton,  John,  lines  on  intolerance,  311. 

Missions,  Baptist,  Foreign,  beginning  of 
in  England,  502 :  an  era  in  history, 
575 :  beginning  in  United  States,  576: 
Home,  beginning  of,  in  England,  503 : 
do.,  in  United  States,  576. 

Missionaries,  Baptist,  580. 

Monmouth's  Rebellion,  364. 

Monthly  concert,  501. 

Moravia,  Baptists  expelled  from,  266. 

MoultoD  Ebeuezer,  549. 


Munster,  madmen  of,  249-256; 
by  Baptists  of  their  day,  256. 
Munzer,  Thomas,  161-163. 

Neander  on  infant  baptism,  17. 
Neglecting  worship,  censure  for,  346,  485. 
Netherlands,    Baptist   martyrs  in,    195- 

211. 
New  Hampshire,  Baptists  in,  538. 
New  Lights,  535. 
New  York,  Baptists  in,  537. 
Nice,  Council  at,  in  regard  to  heretical 

books,  88. 
Nidermair,  Hans,  put  to  death,  166. 
"  Noble  Lesson,  the,"  Waldensian  book, 

106. 
Nonconformists,  331,  332. 
North  British  Review  on  infant  baptism, 

16. 
North  Carolina,  Baptists  in,  537. 
Nova  Scotia,  Baptists  in,  549-551. 
Novatian,  his  imperfect  baptism,  36,  55 ; 

his  history,  56. 
Novatians,  55  ;  the  Puritans  of  the  early 

church,  56 ;  first  Anabaptists,  57. 

Gates,  Samuel,  indicted  for  murder, 
for  baptizing,  314. 

Ohio,  Baptists  in,  540. 

Orchard's  "  History  of  Baptists,"  mis- 
takes in,  69. 

Origen,  30-32. 

Orleans,  ten  heretical  canons  at,  82. 

Otto  of  Frisingen  on  Arnold,  137. 

Parker,  Archbishop,  24S. 

Parkhurst,  Bishop,  winks  at  Baptists, 
247. 

Particular  Baptist  Church,  first  one  in 
England,  302. 

Paitlcular  Baptist  fund,  487. 

Patient,  Thos.,  letter  to  Cromwell  by, 
320- 

Paulicians,  origin,  71  ;  martyrdom  of,  76; 
take  up  arms,  77 ;  seek  aid  of  Sara- 
cens, 77 ;  doctrines  and  practices,  77- 
81  ;  enter  Europe,  85 ;  in  Italy,  97. 

I'earce,  Samuel,  521. 


INDEX. 


597 


Pearson,  Nicholas,  550. 

Peasant  war,  163,  164. 

Peckhain,  Arclibishop,  in  London,  1 16. 

Pelagianism,  62. 

Pelagius,  his  teachings,  62. 

Periodicals,  Baptist,  583. 

"Persecution  Judged  and  Condemned," 
294. 

Persecutioi:,  origin  of,  53. 

Peter  of  Bniys,  98,  122  ;  labors  of,  127; 
martyrdom,  131  ;  Mr.  Walls  on,  134. 

Peter  the  Venerable  on  progress  of  re- 
form, 130. 

Phil.  Association,  541 ;  corresponds  with 
London  ministers,  542  ;  books  sent  to, 
Ih.  ;  letter  from,  to  London,  544. 

Philip  IL,  edict  against  Baptists,  198. 

Philpot,  Archdeacon,  harsh  opinion  of 
Joan  Boucher,  236 ;  244. 

Photius  writes  against  the  Paulicians,  72. 

Petrus  Siculus,  writes  against  the  Paul- 
icians, 72. 

Pichner,  Hans,  tortured,  174. 

Pieters,  Jan,  burned  in  Smithfield,  278. 

Piggott,  John,  522. 

Plurality  of  elders,  385. 

Polycarp,  22. 

Poor  men  of  Lyons,  98. 

Powell,  Vavasor,  328;  the  "Whitefield 
of  Wales,"  412  ;  death  in  prison,  416. 

Prayer  answered,  437,  459. 

Preaching,  success  of,  iii;  papacy 
adopts,  112. 

Presbyterians  of  seventeenth  century  ab- 
horred toleration,  308-317;  objections 
to  the  English  Establishment,  323. 

Puiitans,  285. 

Reformers,  spread  of,  116. 

Reinerus  Saccho,  anecdote  of  one  of  the 
Cathari,  104;  against  Waldenses,  106. 
'  Religion's  Peace,"  292. 

F  eynerson,  Tjaert,  martyr,  199. 

Khode  Island,  Baptists  in,  475-478. 

Rhode  Island  College,  546-548. 

Richardson,  Samuel,  pamphlet  on  tole- 
ration, 312. 

Ridley  persecutes  Baptists,  234,  236 


Robinson,  Robert,  496,  498,  513-51^ 
Rogers,  John,  martyr,  236. 
Russell,  John,  470. 
Ryhnd,  John  C,  515. 

Salzburg,  martyrdoms  at,  166. 
Samson,  singular  notion  of,  87. 
Sandys,  bishop  of  London,  270;  his  »ei« 

mon  before  Parliament,  272. 
Satler,  Michael,  martyr,  165. 
Savoy  Conference,  323. 
Scammon,  Mrs.,  her  zeal,  538. 
Schism  Bill,  492. 
Schlaffer,  Hans,  beheaded,  165. 
Schnabet,  George,  disputes  with  Bucer, 

170. 
Schoener,  Leonard,  martyrdom,  165. 
Scholastic  philosophy,  94. 
Scholastic  theology,  Hallam's  account  o^ 

93- 
Schoolmen,  95  ;  names  and  titlrs,  lb. 
Scriptures,  translations  pleaded  for,  101. 
Sears,  Dr.  Barnas,  548. 
Segerson,  Jeronimus  and  Lvsken,  mar- 
tyrs, 202. 
Semisch  on  Justin  Martyr,  22. 
Serampore  Mission,  502. 
Sergius,  an  eminent  Paulician,  75 ;  his 

conversion,  labors,  and  maityrdom,  76. 
Seward,  Mrs.,  526. 
Simeon,  a  Paulician  convert,  73. 
Simons,  Joriaen,  martyr,  colporteur,  205, 

226. 
Simplician,  bishop  of  Milan,  consulted, 

60. 
Singing  in  worship,  387,  463. 
Siricius,  bishop  of  Rome,  consulted,  6a 
Skepp,  John,  505. 
Smith,  Hezekiah,  D.D.,  568. 
Smithfield,  burnings  in,  233. 
Smyth,    John,    confession    of  faith    sf 

church  in  Amsterdam,  287-289. 
Snyder,  Leopold,  beheaded,  166. 
Societies.  Baptist,  579. 
Socinianism,  152. 
Speronistse,  100. 

"  Standing  Order"  in  New  England,  5218 
Spilsbury,  John,  303,  392. 


598 


INDEX. 


Steams,  Shubael,  553-556. 

Steele,  Miss  Anne,  526. 

Steinborn,  cruelty  at,  171. 

Stennells,  the,  516-519. 

Stephen  II.,  Pope,  sanctions  infant  bap- 
tism with  wine,  87. 

Stillman,  Samuel,  D.D.,  570. 

Strict  communion,  386. 

Stuart,  Moses,  on  infant  baptism,  17. 

Sturgion,  John,  his  "Plea  for  Tolera- 
tion," 327. 

Support  of  chuich,  refusing  to  contribute 
toward,  worthy  of  discipline,  486. 

Sutcliffe,  John,  501. 

Swansea,  church  at,  471  ;  479. 

Swarte,  Jan  de,  martyrdom  with  wife  and 
children,  208,  209,  228. 

Switzerland,  Baptists  in,  178-188,  268. 

Taverner,  Samuei.,  457. 

Tennessee,  Baptists  in,  539. 

Terrill,  Edward,  627. 

Tertullian,  27-30. 

Terwoort,  Hendrick,  his  martyrdom  in 

Smithfield,  278. 
Texerants,  100. 
Theodora,  Empress,  puts  to  death  one 

hundred  thousand  Paulicians,  76. 
Theological  institutions,  Baptist,  582. 
Thomas,  David,  565. 
Toleration  Act,  1689,  492. 
Tombes,    John,    B.D.,    319,    421 ;    his 

works,  422. 
"Triers,  The,"  319. 
Trine  immersion,  49. 

Universities,  foundations  of,  96. 
University  of  Paris,  96. 
Utrecht,  Union  of,  its  provisions,  264; 
gives  rest  to  churches,  lb. 

Van  Byler,  Gerrit,  his  firmness,  272. 

Van  den  Houte,  Soetgen,  158. 

Van  der  Sach,  Franciscus,  martyr,   177, 

228. 
Van  Pare,  George,  martyr,  239. 


Van  Straten,  Hans,  282. 
Vaser,  Juriaen,  minister,  martyr,  339. 
Vaughan,  Dr.,  on  views  of  Wyclifle,  14a 
Venner's  Rebellion,  325 ;  Baptists  pro- 
test against,  326. 
Verbeek,  Joos,  martyr,  minister,  207. 
Vermont,  Baptists  in,  538. 
Vienna,  police  ofi  capture  Baptists,  171. 
Virginia,  Baptists  in,  532,  536. 

Waddington  on  Novatian,  57. 

Waldenses,  98 ;  were  Baptists,  146,  147 

Waldo,  Peter,  98,  144,  145. 

Waller,  John,  563,  564. 

Wallin,  Benjamin,  522. 

Wallin,  Edward,  522. 

Walls,  Mr.,  statement  of,  134, 

Ward,  Dr.  John,  fund  for  ministers'  edu- 
cation, 491. 

Wayland,  Dr.  Francis,  547. 

Whitgift,  his  invectives  against  the  Bap- 
tists, 280,  281. 

Widows'  Fund,  English,  490. 

Wightman,  Edward,  burned  at  Lichfield, 
290. 

William  of  Newbury,  139. 

William,  Prince  of  Orange,  aided  by 
Baptists,  262 ;  respected  rights  of 
conscience,  263 ;  favors  Baptists  of 
Holland,  lb. ;  noble  answer  of,  264 ; 
492. 

Williams,  Roger,  460,  464;  sketch  of, 
471-477. 

Wilson,  Samuel,  523. 

Wippe,  Joris,  martyr,  206. 

Worship  of  English  churches,  385. 

Wright,  Joseph,  457. 

WyclifFe  opposes  mendicants,  119;  retires 
to  Lutterworth,  lb. ;  translates  Bible, 
120;  books  and  bones  ordered  to  be 
burned,  120. 

Zacharv,  Pope,  says  immersion  nece» 

sary  to  baptism,  86. 
Zwingli,  nearly  became  a  Baptist,  17&. 
Zurich,  Baptists  drowned  at,  i8i. 


BX6231  .C88 

Baptist  history:  from  the  foundation  of 

Princeton  Theologicjl  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00004  0628 


